Strings
by Reikanishy
Summary: The Strings Universe....one of my best achievements to date. Yaoi,very explicit I suppose, 2x1, and so much insane fluff you'll be drowning in it.n.n Strings 1, 2 and 3 are now up.
1. One Heart To Another

**Author:** The Mercurian Vixen (A.K.A Shy Himura, Shini-Kun, Melissa Penwrym, The Illuminated Tome, The Illustrious Bubblegum Vixen, The Darkness Inside, and "Oy! You! Get back here with those sausages!" )

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam Wing. That honour is left to Bandai, and Sunrise, and everybody else who has a take in it. I just love them.

**Warnings:** Lemons, fluffyness, sap.

**Summary: **Hot summer night, sex, strings and murmured sweetness. A fluffy 2x1 story that left the author, me, blushing and giggling. Hope you like it. One shot, yaoi, lemons, and lots of lurve. Giggles, and looks pleased Contains harvest moons, fans, Wonder Boys and Dark Loves. Not for the faint of sappy heart. Heero POV, if you can't guess it within the first few paragraphs.

**Dedications:** For Dave, who showed me true love, and who I love deeply in return. For summer nights, where the only thing you can do is make love above the sheets, breaths and kisses hot and pulsing and beautiful. And for loving pilots, whose only joy is each other, in the splendid deepening dark.

**Strings – One Heart To Another**

We're gonna make love tonight. At least, that's what he said. I like the sound of that.

First times, both of us. Ain't it funny? I had never ever really thought of sex before. It was something unreachable, something...dead. Something I could never have, because I was…am….might die anyway. By mobile suit, by gun, by knife in the night...by my own hand, if such a thing became necessary.

Amazing, that I could come to this, and so...early, too. 15 is pretty early, isn't it?

I didn't know about these things. The most I knew about things like this was that women and men did it, to create babies. Not really necessary nowadays, what with cloning being allowed and condoned, but some people found it comforting to go back to the old ways. I guess. I'm not really good with the feelings behind other people's actions.

A flash of a nervous grin in the dark, cobalt eyes studying me, and I gasp as those smiling lips kissed me softly, on my neck.

Hmm. Interesting. That small touch...wow.

What was even more amazing about all of this...is that it's a boy who's kissing me, so soft, so hesitantly. Not like him at all. He's usually bold, and brash, and full of sound-

Oh, kami, is that his teeth? Whatever it is...it's...quite... … …nice... … … … …

Yeah. A boy. I never knew boys could...love…other boys. Oh sure, I had heard hints of homosexuality before, some crude comments and jokes, but...I never really knew what it meant. Damn. I know how to dismantle a bomb, how to kill a person with my bare hands, and how to stop rampaging Gundam Pilots from destroying the kitchen in their search for food...but never boys...loving boys.

I think I might love him.

He says he doesn't mind if I don't love him back. But there's...this shadow, in his eyes, when he says it, and it makes my heart hurt. I love him. I'm pretty sure of it.

See, I just can't imagine life without him. Pretty stupid, ne?

I like the way he looks. That's a start. Aesthetics are always a good thing in a relationship. Oh, I don't like _all_ his body, that would be silly, but I like most things about him. His eyes. His pert little nose. His smile. His hair, so beautiful. His...ears. Gah. I like his _ears_. They're just so...cute. I like his butt too, but I could never tell him that without blushing.

I do blush sometimes.

I like his skin…very pale. Like creamed milk. I like milk too. I like the way his eyes crinkle when he laughs, for real, instead of the forced ones he sometimes emits, to hide his pain.

A hand, brushing across my chest. How could such a simple act…so nice, by the way…leave me panting? Strange.

I like the way he walks, and runs, and even sits, always full of bouncing energy. He's graceful, too, like a dancer. Sometimes like….ooooh…wait, what's his name?

A nibbling, right on my collarbone…

What's _my _name again…?

Heh. I _really_ like this making love thing.

Hmmm….what else do I like about him? I like his hands…they're calloused, like mine, but so…oddly…sometimes infuriatingly…gentle. Not like that hose-beasts…I shudder, and those hands smooth them away, chasing them out of my skin. I like the way he uses his hands too.

I like the way he dresses. Black would usually be unflattering, on such a cheerful person, but…it suits him. Right down to the white collar too. And those boots….if they went up to his thighs, if he got a pair that did that…I think I would die from lust induced shock. 'Come-fuck-me-boots', isn't that what they're called? Fitting.

I'm getting a little sick of letting him do all the work. I pull him upwards, lips find mine, and I…well, I clutch him to me, like a…embrace. I can't remember ever really hugging a person like this before. On my back, him on top of me…oh wow, was that his tongue? Do it again, Wonder Boy. Yeah. Heh, heh, heh…

That was nice.

I like the way he's sometimes silent, thought that kinda scares me. Because when he's silent is the time he's feeling too much pain to hide…and I hate the thought of him being in that much pain. Agony is an old friend to all of us, I even feel it myself, but…maybe it's different, when you love someone…

You don't want them to feel like that…

The sheets are cool beneath me. On this blistering summers night, with nothing but a gentle fan allowed to stir the stifling air, we have to do this above covers. Even though…I gasp, as a hand glides underneath me, touching my shoulder blades as a clever little tongue tries to investigate my tonsils…maybe, with…uh...stains, and all, this is better.

The school would kill us if they thought we…were…

Tongues are nice. Another thing to add to the list. I like his tongue.

Yep. Most definitely.

I like the way he kisses me. Stolen kisses, usually, and always out of sight. In a shed. In a public toilet. Hell, even in his Gundam once. The first time he did it, I wanted to deck him at first, because it came out of _nowhere._ Alone, I thought, in a safe house, and I was standing at the back door, waiting for one of the guys to come back from a mission, so I could discuss an upcoming one. He just…did it, so fast, behind me, hands on my shoulders, spinning me around to face him. Lips on mine, softly, and then more brutally in the second it took him to…believe he was doing it, I guess. I remember thinking, quite clearly, 'What the hell is he _doing_?' Then…it was nice. Then it was better than nice. He pulled back, ready to run, eyes so dark with fear…and with a kind of hope…and then I jerked him back to me, and kissed him back. He _really_ liked that bit.

I did too.

I like the way he talks to me. As if…my opinion matters. Oh sure, people are like that for information on weaponry, stats, facts and mission plans, because they _know_ I know it, and understand it. The other three, they do it sometimes too, even without my expertise in death.

He does it _all _the time.

My throat betrays a strangled moan, as his hand lingers on my lower belly. Hell. Where did that come from? Who cares, he's smiling at me again. Oh kami, I love his smiles. I have to return it, and he laughs, small, whisper like, really…nice.

I like his laughs too.

Hmm…I like his way of talking. I like the way his voice flows, like…golden water. Poetic, ne? But…it's true. He's incredibly intelligent...far more than he shows most of us...and that he trusts me in showing his wit...I like that very much.

I like the way the darkness clings to him. Like the shadows are caressing his thin body, his muscled chest, all hidden underneath his shadowed clothes. I got jealous of the shadows sometime, for touching him where I couldn't. Well, couldn't back then.

Even though I didn't know about sex that much, one gleaming look from those cobalt eyes could turn my insides to jelly and my brains to mush. And those kisses stirred up…very pleasant reactions. And I knew that I wanted him…somewhere. Yeah. Pretty weird, I know.

I felt like a girl the first time I experienced that.

He's taking off my shirt now. Cheap one, grey, cotton, and he could have ripped it off with one clean yank if he wanted to. Maybe I wanted him too, in those weird, half formed thoughts I got during those kisses. But this is much better.

Teeth, scraping on my nipple….gods….my back arches, up into him, and he moves with the movement. Kami, please, please…

Better now he's stopped. A little bit too much, pain and pleasure mixed together…I liked it though.

I like his…and you can bet I'm trying to fight a blush…I like his cock.

I _really _like it.

I saw it, for the first time, about a month ago. We had been kissing, quite nicely too, in the cellar of the current safe house we had been staying at. My hand was on his stomach, under his shirt, and he was nibbling my lips, trying to get me to open mine again, and let him play with my tongue with his. All of a sudden he gasps, goes rigid, and breaks away. I was shocked to find, in the brief second before he threw himself back, that…lower down…he was….

Well, hard.

Very hard.

Pleasantly so.

He looked at me, so much _shame_ in his eyes, that I had to ask what was wrong. He had said something like he didn't want to scare me, he was so sorry…it disintegrated into confusing babbling then…and I held up a hand, silencing him.

The pillow is soft. My head sinks into it as I arch again, hot open mouth on my throat again, sucking at my jugular. Beautiful, beautiful Wonder Boy.

He did fall silent, for once. I just asked him what the hardness was. His eyes went very, very wide. And his silence turned into a surprised one.

He explained to me, then, what it was.

See? I really knew nothing before him. I really like him for that, too. I had experienced it before, but had let it go away, certain it was just a normal body occurrence that went hand in hand with missions. Don't get me wrong, I'm not turned on by killing people, it's the adrenaline. Rushing through your body, it knowing that it could be its last seconds on this mortal plain, it tries to gear you to run, or fight. The erections are just a side effect of it slowly draining from your system, hours later. I think it has a name…battle lust, or something…

I asked him about a faster way to get rid of it. He blushed bright red.

Rid of it? He seemed kinda awed at the fact. And then…that question.

You've never had an orgasm before?

Of course I hadn't. I told him so. Before him, I was only concerned for the missions, and the ultimate goal of Operation Meteor. I didn't have time for…whatever that was. I didn't even fully understand…still…why I got these….hardened….yeah…

I must have been the only teenager on the _planet_ who didn't know. Kami, that's a pretty decent depressing thought…oh well, I know now, and I like it. Nothing else matters.

He's taking his shirt off, now. I study his chest, the smoothness, the writhing muscles as his shoulders flex…dappled lightly with the finest of blonde hairs in the middle…I lick my lips, and smile up at him, his legs straddling my waist as he lets the shirt fall to the floor. He's beautiful. He smiles back, and my heart…it feels warm.

He gulped, and I could see his throat move in the dim light of the cellar. I…kinda liked that, too. And then he asked me to do something with him. That we wouldn't touch, but he would show me what to do. And if I felt uncomfortable…at _all_…that I was to stop immediately, and leave.

He really, _really_ stressed that fact.

He told me later, with a wry grin, that if I had felt uneasy at all, it would have been a form of rape. To him. I just hit the side of his head, gently, and he sniggered when I called him a baka.

Oh wow…he's hard, too. My own had been poking me uncomfortably in my belly, constricted by these boxers I'm wearing, but I hadn't noticed it before. Probably because of those kisses…when he kisses you, you forget everything else. You forget who you are, what time it is, what _month_ it is, and you only know…that sweetness. Unbearable beauty, those lips of his.

Anyway, he had blushed again, before he slowly started undoing his belt. Well. That kinda surprised me. He told me, with a nervous laugh, that he hadn't done this in front of anyone before. Done what? Then his pants had dropped. And I found myself glued to the sight…of his boxers being jerked down…too…

I think my heart stopped beating at that very moment.

It was…exhilarating, to see him like that. Blushing, biting his lip, staring into my eyes as he dropped to his knees. So…vulnerable. So…trusting, his trust in me, this…strangely _shy _moment.

His hands, which had been nervously by his side, had moved upwards…into his lap…until they…gripped. Softly.

The blood rushed from my head so fast I'm surprised I didn't faint on the spot.

I watched, as those hands moved…up and down, that beautiful…hell, say it, cock. He was touching his cock. And he gasped and shuddered as I, I pulled down my shorts…kicked them away….left me bare below the waist, except for my sneakers.

Grinding, into me, his body weight so warm, above…so slow though, so damn slow. I like this, but a little part of me wishes for more. From his strained breathing, I'd say he does too.

My back was grazed by the wall as I slid slowly down it, on the other side of the room, away from him. He started to pant, short sharp breaths, and his hands continued to move slowly, caressing the tip, the length, the base. So beautiful. With some surprise I noticed I was as hard as a rock. Much different than the adrenaline fuelled erections.

I liked the way his eyes never left mine. As my hand, shameless as if I wasn't human at all, dropped to my own cock, slightly mirroring his movements. I had never touched myself like this before. I moaned as I felt that first shudder of pleasure, like a grip that held me down there and travelled into my belly. An….ache. He had gasped, and his knees had jerked, as if his whole body had wanted to drive forwards.

My hand moved forwards…my breath left me in a rush…and then caught in my throat as it moved back. Oh sweet blessed kami…even the memory makes me feel that jolt again.

I grip his shoulders with needing hands and thrust against him again, harder, almost punishing. Those eyes staring into mine, fathomless blue of a darkening twilight sky, gleam with a lusty smile. I would kill for those eye smiles. I swear it.

We built a rhythm, together, in the dusty sunlight filtering through the cellar window. With some interest I noticed…what had he called it…? Ah yes, precome, gathering at that beautiful tip, and his fluttering hands slid it downwards, coating it. I felt that shudder again, stronger this time. I also remembered that same feeling, stranger and filled with pleasurable pain, when I had medical examinations…when a doctor had checked me out…inside…

Proctologist. I remember. J flew him in especially before Operation Meteor started, and a whole host of others, for a three day medical check up. Bloody perverted old bugger.

But he had used lubricant. I didn't have any. But I _wanted_ that feeling again. I had liked it, even when I hadn't realised at the time what it was. I wanted to add it to this sweet pleasure. He groaned, eyes widening and breath catching, as I slid two fingers into my mouth, coating them with my spit. Even if _I_ didn't know what to do, my _body_ sure did.

I love him in the moments when he smiles at me. When he kisses me. When he holds me like this, trying to calm our racing bodies down. To make this last longer. When he slips our boxers off, and spirits them away into the comforting darkness.

He choked as I slid down further, my legs spreading wider, as I raised my hips…I cried out sharply as he twitched, and I couldn't take my gaze off him shaking, eyes wide and glued to my hand as it travelled downwards…past my cock…past everything…

It was painful, slightly, at first. I winced as my own finger entered me slowly, slick warm inner walls gripping as I pressed forwards…and then back…my hand on my cock mirroring my movements. He had gaped at me, sweat pouring from his brow. What are you _doing_? His hands had sped up, nevertheless, almost panicked caresses, and his breaths came harder, raspy, almost pained. I don't know I had replied breathlessly. I winced again, and he had asked if it hurt. I nodded, but at his horrified eyes I shuddered again. Good hurt. Oh please, don't make me stop. Please. He had never heard me plead before. It had made him cry out, and jerk forwards into his hands again.

I like the way he eats chocolate. As if it's the only thing in his world at that moment, and it requires all of his attention. He's like that nearly all the time with me, even though I'm not covered in chocolate. Strange. Why am I thinking about chocolate now…? Probably because he's looking at me …like…kami, like he wants to eat me. Devour me, with his eyes.

Uh-oh.

I was covered in sweat, panting and shuddering, my hand slick on my cock and then…two fingers….kami…he had nearly screamed as I arched up, digging deeper, his own hands speeding up and his eyes growing hazy with his mounting pleasure. Then….wow…no, that can't possibly describe it. It was…heaven. I hit something, further in and a little to the left, the thing that had first caused that pleasure so long ago…I cried out, in pleasure and in shock. And I was so glad the others were gone on a mission, and wouldn't be back for hours.

Ain't it funny? Prostates are kinda funny, I reckon. I like that too, because he has one, even though…without much discussion, actually… we decided that I'm the…bottom? Heh. I guess I have a cute butt too, because he's gripping it now, his kisses lingering and sloppy. I love these kinds of kisses.

I love his lips on mine.

I love him.

His hands were nearly a blur, as were mine, as I found that spot again and used it ruthlessly. Jerking onto my own fingers, and I couldn't stop the short sharp cries spiralling from my throat, and he kept moaning as I slammed into myself. We never lost eye contact, and his were so warm, and surprised, and pleased, and sexy and lust filled and so loving I nearly passed out. But my body wouldn't let me. It wanted this pleasure so much, it would die before it let me stop.

He obviously remembers it too, as his hand wraps around my cock, so gentle and not moving at all as he we continue to kiss. I love the feel of him on me, like the smell of apricots on the fruit. Clinging. Cloying. And so sweetly erotic.

My hips started jerking slowly as pleasure began spiralling down, filling my lower regions with burning heat. I couldn't make any noises anymore; my throat was closed so tight I couldn't have whispered if I wanted to. Is this what an orgasm was? I sure hoped so. Oh dear kami, I prayed it was so. Our clothes were dark with out sweat, our bodies trembling, and his eyes, so dark and mysterious and _clutching mine_ with their gaze, and he had whispered, Come for me, come for me now. I didn't know what he meant, but those words…the way they were _said_…I screamed as I arched again, this time so much it felt like my back would break, and I felt myself give inside the curled grip of my hand. The muscles around my thrusting fingers tightened wildly, and I nearly passed out from the pleasure, so all consuming, and I barely noticed as his mouth made an O as he started too.

I love the way he comes. Its as if he becomes something…_more_, more than what he already is.

Twitching, shuddering, gasping, I slumped onto my side, my hands still clutching and still inside as I let the waves of bliss run rampant through my exhausted frame. I watched as his grip tightened, and he almost shrieked, a sigh and a scream inside a groan, and his cock throbbed as it pumped onto the waiting floor.

I like the way he stops when I start thrusting into his grip, as I moan softly, so close to the edge. We found out that he can suspend me on the precipice for hours, because of the iron control I have over my body, and because of our learning touches. It had only happened three times since the afternoon in the cellar, once in my Gundam, once in his, and once even in this very bed, two weeks ago, where I had voiced…hesitantly…that I wanted to do something more.

He had gaped at me again. I totally surprise him sometimes. I like that.

Lubricant. Real stuff this time. I shiver as his digits explore me, work inside of me, because I can take two at once, and I barely need time to recover when he adds more. I kiss him again, because I feel my lips begging to me to, and we both smile into the meeting of ourselves up above, and with his hand down below. I love this about him. He can be a ruthless killer, but also such an attentive lover…a confrontation of the light and of the dark.

I like the way his eyes narrow when he concentrates, as he's doing right now, making sure I won't be hurt when he enters me for real. Three fingers. I like…shit… the way he scissors them just right, barely catching at my prostate, barely even going near it, but stretching me effectively all the same. I like the way he…oh… looks right now.

I love the way he looks right now.

I love him so much.

More, stretching, sympathetic twinges of…kami… of pain, curling lazily around my spine before disappearing. I feel myself relax like as a dark purring begins in my mind, an even darker pleasure of massaged muscles, and being cradled, invading me. Impossible that I might never have known this pleasure. This sweet…oh yes… pleasure, that must be like death in a small way.

"You're so beautiful…" Were those words from my lips?

From his blush, and his shocked gaze, I would say it was so. Heh. Surprised him again.

"I …_ohhh_….I want you to…uh…know something…"

"What is it?" So breathless, as he chases his question with a short kiss.

"So…important…"

"I'm listening."

The words. The plunge. And I surrender to it, with all of myself…

"I love you."

Widening eyes, his breath catches, and he stops inside me.

"I do."

"Oh God…this isn't because you like sex, is it?"

Huh? _What_! No!

I glare at him, before I can feel it soften, and the silliest little smile starts to play on my mouth. "Part of it is. Most of it is the way you look at me. The way you do things, the way you look, the way you smell like lavenders and Chinese five spice. The way you laugh, and make me laugh. Your kisses. Those special silences, where we're curled up in the dark, listening to each other's heartbeat. Your ears, and your voice, your smile, your dark side, and your light, and your jokes. I love you because….

He looks so expectant, so hopeful…

"I love you because…you're you. Because you're my best friend, and my greatest ally. Because you care for me, as I care for you, and it hurts me when you say you don't care if I love you. Because I can't bear to live, if you won't be there. Because…you love me, and I feel so safe. Because whenever I look at you, my heart warms up and anything feels possible. I love you, Duo." Everything said in a whisper, as if I can't bear to break the quiet around us.

He shudders, and catches my words with his lips, pressing against mine.

"Oh, you silly bastard, you had to wait until _now_? I love you too. I love you so damn much. I love you, Heero."

Those fingers, again. _Oh_…I love him. And he knows. And…something inside of him is new, something…beautiful. And I can feel it inside myself, too. It's like…a circle.

A never-ending loop.

A chain.

A tether.

A string.

From my heart to his, and back again.

I grip him tightly as those digits stretch me more, slower but also rougher, that threshold of pain nearing that I've been searching for. The mixture of joy and fear, light and dark, life and death….this feeling of being held by him. This special, maniacal, suicidal, death keeping, beautiful, soul filled Wonder Boy.

He's done. I like the way he exits me, as if he wants to stay there, somehow, forever. My legs, gentle hands guiding them even further apart, his hands lingering on the inside of my thighs… trembling in his nervousness. I am too. This thing….this is a huge step, a promise that once made could break so easily. But we could die, today, tomorrow…I want to spend the rest of my life, however short it may be, loving him and being loved by him. If we get angry at each other, we can take it out on OZ, take out our frustrations on the war that's ripping us open, even as it brings us together. Yep.

His eyes catch mine, and I like the silent question he asks. I nod, and hold out my arms to him. I want…I want this so _badly_…it surprises me. The sex, of course that's a part of it, but I also want to be…held by him. To feel the love in his chest beat against my own, in my heart. To feel…to feel him, as he put the lube on himself, shivering at the coldness…to _feel_…

I help him on top of me, his braid slithering past the two of us to lie on the sheets next to us, the fan gently stirring cool air against our sweat soaked bodies, the harvest moon shining immense and orange through the window. A trembling hand lands softly on the pillow beside my head, and his eyes, so big and dark, catch my own and hold me as he positions himself, my hips canting upwards, onto his lap. I gasp, and he stops.

"You're sure?" Trembling, shaky, scared tone. I love him for the trust implied in that. For the great Shinigami to let his guard down so much…

"Yes." Brutal honesty. I've never been known to be able to lie. While he refuses to, I just…can't.

He moves forward. Slowly. I'm a virgin, and so is he, and the research we did together said that I would be especially tight, for this first time. So it's hard work, and I can see the strain on his face as he slowly looms inside me, a dark, warm throbbing presence. I love this. I love him. Even through the pain, and the stinging tears rising to my eyes, I love him.

It isn't that bad, actually. Ain't it funny? Even I thought it would be terrible. But…it's just aching pressure, like being filled to the brink with heavy water, with the slight tingling of too stretched muscles. He stops, panting, to make sure I'm alright, to let me relax, and I clutch him to myself, my legs rising to wrap around his waist and his back. I'm awed. This…this feels fucking _fantastic_…

"You alright?" Breathless, panting, and his _eyes_…

"Fine. Just give me a minute." Why am I feeling…so calm? Is it because it's him? Is it because…this is the most intimate thing…I have _ever_ done, and the best? Is it because, in a deep part of myself, I've known I've loved him all along? Since that first kiss, in a kitchen, so long ago...since I first saw that beaming grin…when he shot me? That long? Kami…

He trembles above me, still scared to let his full weight rest on my body, and I pull him down impatiently, aching for the contact even as he's filling me. He sinks onto my chest and stomach with a sigh, and tenderly brushes the hair out of my eyes, his fingertips lingering on my forehead. I feel…strange. Cold chills racing, up and down my spine, like water sliding through my flesh…a wave of heat, filling my belly as he shifts, so slowly, getting into a more comfortable position….water…fire…ice…cold….warm…cold… and his eyes, staring so deep into mine…

I gaze back at him, and then feel my eyes close as his lips brush mine again, tender and loving and soft. I kiss him back, with an abandon I never thought possible in myself, before I pull back slowly, regretfully. "Do it, Wonder Boy" I whisper, and he shivers, for he had never heard my pet name for him before. "Make love to me, here in the dark. Love me." Cold…so cold….warmth in the places we touch, a wave of almost desperate lust rising through me, swamping me like cool summer rain…

"Oh 'Ro…" I feel him pulse, inside me, throbbing spectacular heat.

"Love me. With everything you have. Like I love you."

He curves his hips slowly; he moves inside me more, filling me, and I grip him, wanting him further inside. This…oh kami, this is beautiful. This is him, and me, and splendour. Oh, _kami_…

He flexes again, young muscles straining, and he pulls away, only to move forward again…flashes spark in my eyes, and nerves, as he brushes that sweet spot inside, a moan escaping my lips…he gasps as I surge against him, pulling him in as he comes forward, moving away to make the thrusts more filling when he returns…

I can tell this won't last long. Not for me, and not for this wonderful boy. But it's gentle, and it's magnificent.

My arms snake their way around his shoulders, his lips brushing my neck as his head arches down, holding me against himself as he thrusts gently in and out. That discomfort, slight as it was, is gone, and I can feel every shudder, every pulse, every inch of that hot, hard, slick cock moving inside me. It's so _good…_so_ right._

"Oh God…'Ro…" Tears, hot against my neck. "'Ro…I love you…" I let my own tears start, because…this is a moment of trust. Of letting down our guards. I moan as he lifts my hips, giving me the direction to thrust back against him. Of letting this be a moment of peace in our war torn lives. I love him for this chance. I love him for this sweet joy.

A hand interlaces itself with mine, raising it above my head, fingers curling through mine. A promise. Deeper, rhythmic, harder thrusts now, making my body shudder as he gasps, over and over again, breath warm against my ear, his hips beating a rhythm against my butt, so deep he was. A promise between us. My cock rubbing his lower belly, as I worm a hand between our rocking bodies to touch, to feel, to sweeten and to shorten. Because he's starting, only minutes away, and I want to come with him. Those flashes, in my eyes, in my belly, in my nerves, as he caresses that sweet place inside that makes me nearly insane with delight. That water, cool but warming, shivering through me…

I'm so glad this dorm room is soundproofed. I'm so glad this bed is so sturdy, as our rhythm makes it quake and scrape against the floor. I'm so glad I'm doing this with him.

He is hot, hotter than the stifling air around us, and he's so hot I hope he doesn't burn me inside. His lips leave my neck, his eyes wide and warm and tearful and beautiful, and I stare up into them as I abandon my futile touching, for I can feel the end racing nearer, within my pulsing twisting body. "D-Duo…" His hair falls alongside our heads as he leans in closer, kissing me, our eyes never closing before he pulls back, to thrust in again and again.

"'Ro…?" We can barely talk, for our gasping.

"Love you, Duo…"

"Love…you…_oh_…."

I whisper more. "Harder. All…_all _of you." I want him closer, deeper, harder, faster, but I also never want this to end.

He complies; the effort twisting his lips gently as his drives became more furious, more pronounced. My legs pull him in, deeper, that hand still entwined with mine, and I grip his shoulder with the other, pulling his lips to my own. Kami…there it is…so close….need it….please…

I tighten wildly around him when I come, my soft scream lost in my panting breath, a whine that Duo replies to with his own cry as I grip him more tightly than ever before, my body pumping around him as I spill between our close bodies. This is beyond ecstasy, and rapture, and passion. This is _us_. I shudder as he thrusts hard into me, brutal, stretching forwards for his own pleasure and finding it inside of me. There, there it is; he stiffens, his last fierce lunge filling me entirely and his hand closing down tight around mine, and I can feel him inside me, a warm liquid filling and dissolving me, and I'm coming _again_, nearly painful in its extreme, _and oh kami I love him so much…_

He falls, panting and shivering, shaking with his depleted passion, and I hold him close, soothing his trembling muscles with my hand. Still inside me, softening, but I can't bear to lose this connection just yet. It would probably kill me. He senses that, and pulls me flush against his body, his heart thundering along with mine before they finally start to slow, our bodies spent.

"Wonder Boy…"

He can't speak, still torn by his singing body. He had come hard; even I felt that, during my own intoxicating pleasure, and he didn't know quite what to make of it. I could tell.

"Oh, Wonder Boy…that was….beyond…" I still can't get my breath to slow. It's like my lungs have been filled with water, making me have to gasp for every tiny little scrap of air.

"You…you aren't hurt…are you?" He sounds so scared, as if I could possibly be. He was gentler than I thought he could ever be.

"No" I whisper, shifting against him. "A little sore, but it's nothing. Almost…nice…pain…" I sigh, and stroke his braid with my free hand, our other ones still trapped together.

"'Ro…I….I…love you…."

"I know…I love you too."

He shudders and leans more against me, kissing me softly as he stokes my cheek with his gentle fingertips.

"Always, I always will."

"Same here, Wonder Boy."

He laughed, the sound breathless and sweet and so…_him_. "Why…why do you call me that?"

"Because you _are_ a wonder, Duo Maxwell." My voice, is serious, and low, and I'm falling into his eyes. "You gave me your love so freely, so courageously, and I gave mine in return…because you showed me how. You're…wonderful."

He smiles, and kisses me again. "You're wonderful too, 'Ro. You can't possibly know how much."

He pauses, and his smile turns into a grin. "You're my Dark Love." I can feel myself blush, and he does too, as we embrace on this hot summers night. "Dark Love?" I ask, and suddenly remember what I said.

_Make love to me…here, in the dark…_

"Oh."

He laughs, the sound so beautiful, like falling crystal bells, and buries his face into my collarbone.

"Not that I didn't mind." I tremble again as his hot breath rushes over my skin, him still filling and stretching me, my legs slipping from his back to press against his sides, and I nearly moan as I felt him shift inside. "Almost came when you said that. Had to put a lid on it _real_ fast." He sounded pleased, as if that was something good, and I chuckle breathlessly as I rest my hand on his spine.

Darkness started appearing at the edges of my vision; I was exhausted, and I was paying the toll for it. He laughed again as I yawned, startling me as he rolled us onto our sides, still inside. "Go to sleep, my Dark Love" he said quietly, and his arms were like warm iron bands against my shoulders, keeping me safe from the shadows. "Go to sleep, and let me see us through the night." A sheet was bunched up against the end of the mattress, and I sighed as he pulled it up over us, feather light on my sweat soaked skin.

"Love you…" I whisper as I fall into sleep swiftly, like swimming underwater in the warm murky sea at night, water holding me and caressing me. So…wonderful…

"My Dark Love…I always will…I will always love you…"

Darkness…like him…the laughing boy, with the pain he tries to hide…

We don't have to hide anymore…

We're…us.

A chain…

A tether…

A string…

From my heart to his, and back again…

**OWARI**

**AN:** Well. (Looks shocked) That was the best story I've written so far. Blinks I love this one. Did you notice the way how Heero realises he loves Duo? As if he's trying to convince himself, at first, to justify it all, and then finds that he does love the braided pilot. Has all along. Nice and fluffy and sweet…(Blushes, and looks away, embarrassed) I like the sappiness.

And two lemons, in one story! (Looks stunned) Jesus. That's…a first. Yep. n.n;;; (Purposely ignores her Beyblade one, that's festering…somewhere…in a forgotten folder) That doesn't count, damn it! . ;;;

(Sighs)

I think I might write a sequel, a little side story as the other pilots realise something happened on the undercover High School mission Because that's what it was. What do you guys think? Should I give it a go?

I have to run now; my blush needs ice. Burnies, ow….

Arigatou, for reading.

Love, Shy.

(Reads back, chokes on the fluffy sap, and giggles breathlessly) o.O (Is addicted to the smut, and to the water, and to the fluff) Yeppers. n.n;;;


	2. The Innuendo War

**Author:** The Mercurian Vixen (A.K.A Shy Himura, Shini-Kun, Melissa Penwrym, The Illuminated Tome, The Illustrious Bubblegum Vixen, The Darkness Inside, and "Oy! You! Get back here with those sausages!" )

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam Wing. That honour is left to Bandai, and Sunrise, and everybody else who has a take in it. I just love them.

**Warnings:** Lemon, fluffyness, sap, copious amounts of innuendos, horrible images, and Heero telling a bit of his past.

**Summary:** The hot summer night is over, and the...well, it's still hot summer. Yep. Heero and Duo return back to the safe house in this fluffy sequel to One Heart To Another. Contains so many innuendos I think it might be banned for cucumber jokes alone. n.n;;; Enjoy! 2x1, OOC, fluffy satanic humour. Heero POV still, which is decidedly scarier than last time. Yeah. Duo's created a monster. u.u;;; Also, dark bits. Very, very dark, especially with Heero. And why Duo was so scared that first time... but it all works out! n.n;;;

**Dedications:** For Dave again, who brings me slushies even as the temperature begins to drop (Ta Love). To Tom, who makes me think blue hair might be the sexiest thing ever, besides the pilots. And for U2, who wrote 'With Or Without You', which is playing on my radio and making me think about sex. n.n;;; Yup.

**Strings – The Innuendo War**

So, we made love, last night. You know what? I still like the sound of it.

Wow. And I still feel the same about him. That's a very good thing, ne?

He keeps flashing these brilliant smiles at me, whenever he gets the chance, cobalt eyes twinkling madly. I have to smile back. Who thought it was possible to fall even more in love with another's smile? I certainly didn't. Not when I already loved those small grins so much my heart could burst, splattering he walls with sticky red blood…uh…I'm still a little tired from last night. Who knew twenty minutes of sex could take it out of you so much?

Oh yeah. I smirk at him, making him blink in confusion. I counted, Wonder Boy.

Hard to do, when I felt like I was going to explode from that magnificently sweet pressure. Heh. Serious planning has to go into effect as soon as we get back. I want to do this as often as possible.

I love him. I love making love to him.

Kami, I will _love_ finding places to bring those two together into a reasonable outcome.

Yep.

He kisses me before we have to leave, another long sloppy one, the water in his hair, and in mine so cool against my skin. Separate showers, unfortunately, but…oh…sweet, sloppy kiss…you can't have it…uh…all. I really like the sloppy ones. It's like sex, but it isn't as tiring, and you don't have to smuggle sheets out of your current mission assignment to keep your covers intact, even as you leave. They were in my bag, by the way.

I had an idea about framing them. You know, like a picture? 'Heero and Duo go to the Zoo.' 'Duo and Heero blow some serious shit sky high.' Duo and Heero had sex on these sheets on June 17th, 196 AC.' Yep. You get the drift.

I think Duo saw the edges of my plan in my eyes. He grinned at me, and said he had first dibs on the virgin sheets, when we got back. I could have them tomorrow. I asked if I could have _him_ tomorrow. He's still trying to recover from his choking fit as I walk calmly, and he staggers, out of the main entrance of the school.

"You're _evil_, Dark" he finally splutters, looking at me with respect. I flash him the smallest of grins. "'Course I am, Wonder Boy. I had a good teacher." He pokes me in the side, I pull on his braid a little, and we're even for him dribbling all over my shoulder this morning, while he slept and I tried to keep myself from laughing. I actually kinda liked that. It was…kami, it was cute.

Yes, I'm a fool in deep, honey sweet boy-boy love. The irony of it all.

Quatre had sent a limo to pick us up, backing the reason for our premature leaving, so early into the semester. Apparently our families had come into a bit of money, and we were being sent to another prep academy, this one on the other side of the world. The other kids had been impressed. I just wanted to lie down, and go to sleep.

Yeah, there's a reason for that. I had been a virgin, as had he, and while he had treated me so gently I can't quite wrap my head around it, I still hurt a little bit. All of Quatre's limos came with bench seats, and I was going to catch a quick nap on the way back home. Well, wherever home is now. They had sent a coded message informing us that they had to relocate, due to some suspicious neighbours who thought three boys living alone, obviously so young, was a bit suss.

I hate neighbours.

They don't even give you nice sugar, when you ask for it. Apparently. Duo is sent on all of those public relations quests, since I tend to be a little twitchy with my trigger finger.

As I got into the car, slinging my bag to the other side of the large interior, Duo decided to be funny. I usually like him being funny. I love what he did next.

"Yeah, yeah, look at us! We get a limo! A freakin' _limo_! Being sex slaves for the rich and famous is gonna be cool, right Debbie?" Students gaped. Teachers gaped. Little blue birds flitting around and bathing in an expensive fountain gaped.

He had called me Deb for the mission. Somehow, inexplicably, Deb had turned into Debbie. I snorted.

"Baka. As if Kat would want us licking his toes."

"Didja hear that? We get to lick Madonna's frozen toes! This is gonna be _sweet_! Bye all!"

We sped away, with all possible haste, the Maguanac driving laughing himself into a hernia. I rolled my eyes at Duo, who grinned, as shameless as an animal. We drove on into the already sweltering day in near silence, me staring at my feet and twiddling my toes inside my sneakers, he staring out the window at the browning country outside. Then he looked back at me, and beamed.

Seeing as there was a nice seclusion screen separating driver from homicidal terrorists, we were afforded a bit of privacy, which we took advantage of for the next few minutes. I decided, right then and there, that Wonder Boy could take advantage of me anytime he wants. Wherever he wants.

And however he wan- _Ohhh_…I wish he would do _that_ again…

I love the way he kisses me, when we could be caught at any moment. Quickly darting little nips, at the sides of my mouth and at the line of my jaw, making me breathless. His breath ruffles my hair as he exhales sharply, my hands wandering under the edge of his t-shirt and travelling up the ridges of his spine, and a hand curls around the curve of my thigh.

His braid is a welcome warmth when he flips it around my neck, as we….kami, I hate to say it, being so _macho_ and all…cuddled…on one of the seats, me nearly sitting in his lap as we continued to touch each other softly. It wasn't really sexual, as much as anything we do which can be considered as such. This is just reaffirming that last night was real, that the other was real. It was a comfort thing.

Yes, even us Gundam Pilots need comfort, every now and then. Even the so called Perfect Soldier.

"Hmmm…Dark Love…" he murmurs into my ear as I sag into him, still very careful of the way I sat, my head leaning on his shoulder. I shuddered, my cheeks slightly heating, as his arms left other parts of me, to curl round my waist, pulling me closer to him. He smells different this morning… more lavender, with a touch of oranges thrown into the mix of spices. It's…really beautiful.

I love the orange scent. Then I thought…kami, I smell a little like oranges… or so he had told me once…

My blush must have turned nuclear when I realised that new smell on him was me.

I sigh as I close my eyes, cheek pressed against the warm seat of his black covered shoulder, and he rests his chin on my head as I shifted, so that I was nearly laying on him. I love to lay on him. He's like a really comfortable pillow. Really relaxing.

_Really_ comfy. Hmm…it would be so good to go to sleep…

"Hey, 'Ro…what's the matter? You're usually not this tired after a mission."

I yawn, even as I struggle to sit up. Oh, way to go, my treacherous body. Thumbs up, all the way. I send him the mildest glare as I retreat a few inches away, rubbing the back of my head with one hand, the other playing with one of his shoe laces. "Just a little…tired. That's all. Crawling through those damn records, at that stupid base…"

He sniffs, staring at me suspiciously. Obviously not buying it. I didn't like it so much. But I did still like it a little. He was…worried…about me?

Wow.

I sigh again, a little exasperated. "Alright, a little sore, too. Nothing I can't handle, Duo." His eyes begin to widen, and I scowl at him, holding my hand up. "You shot me, the first time we met. A couple of days of careful sitting won't be anything, compared to that." He has the modesty to look slightly ashamed, before pulling me back on his lap again. I love him when he does things like this.

He smoothed the hair off my forehead, and cradled me in a loose embrace, for all the hour it took to reach the guys, who had parked about 60 miles from the school, with an inconspicuous Jeep type of vehicle. We sighed at the same time, as we separated, longing to stay like we had been for a little longer, but Wufei seemed to be building himself into a full rant episode. I don't like his rant episodes.

I smiled, a sad little quirk I just knew was perching at the corner of my mouth, and he rolled his eyes and grinned. Back to quick make out sessions in Deathscythe, or Wing, again. Or a cellar. Yanno, I would love to see that old cellar again.

Ain't it funny? Around Duo I could be as sweet and warm and fuzzy as apple pie, but around the others my defences move so fast it's a wonder they couldn't hear them.

"Quatre." I nod cordially at him as I chuck my bag into the trunk, the blonde Arabian smiling at me as he leaned back from the steering wheel. "Heero" he said pleasantly, obviously glad to see me, and I spared him the smallest of smiles as I settled into the back seat. Very, very carefully.

"Wuffers!" Ah, I see Wonder Boy is up to his tricks again. I love his tricks. Especially another type of tricks that he saves especially for me. But tormenting Chang can be funny as well as educational.

"Damn it Maxwell!" Wufei had grown another appendage, one that hung around his neck in a full out hug, and would obviously need surgery to be removed. "Stop hugging me!"

"But Wufeeeeeiiiiii…" That whine would break an OZ generals spirit, if he ever heard it. Unfortunately, around them, Duo is as cold and inhuman as death.

Another part of him that I love.

He grinned at me as he jumped in the back seat, beside me, leaving a red faced Wufei to climb in next to him, Trowa already asleep next to Quatre. I raised an eyebrow, and Quatre looked sad for a moment. "Long mission" was all he said, and I nodded again.

The trip was uneventful. Duo managed, somehow, to make sure no one could see as his hand curled around mine, the quickest of side way winks the only sign anything at all was different. I gave it a grateful squeeze, and resigned myself to three hours of keeping my face blank, while every little bump in the road jolted through my tender little butt.

I really, really didn't like this trip.

Duo winced sympathetically as I growled, the road to the abandoned house we were taking over full of potholes and corrugated loops, from past vehicles entering and exiting the property. I glared at him, and he just had to smirk, looking terribly pleased with himself. I snorted. Baka.

I had to admit, I was a little pleased too.

By now I'm kinda regretting not hijacking the limo, and driving it all the way here. At least its suspension wasn't shot to shit, not like this hunk of junk Quatre said Trowa had hotwired a few towns back. I silently listed ways in which I could covertly teach the unibanged pilot, so that he could recognise a luxury sedan when he saw one.

Kami, I would kill for a luxury sedan. Yes, that's a joke. I would still kill for one, though. And for Duo's undivided attention again.

I know, totally selfish, ne?

But…I'm feeling…I dunno, nervous. And scared.

That last night…it was the last time something like that could happen for us. I didn't really care about the others knowing about us, and I didn't know Duo's opinion about it either…we hadn't ever really discussed it. We don't discuss a lot of things, surprisingly. I…I don't like that.

The things I know about him, I love to bits.

The things he doesn't know about me would drive even Relena away, sick little girl with her deadly obsession.

It felt…wrong, this secrecy that was so unneeded.

He glanced at me, a hint of worry in his beautiful blue eyes, as I pulled my hand away from his, discreetly. I didn't look at him, instead watching the trees blur by as we continued driving down this horrible road, the driveway the longest I had ever seen. And, amazingly, it was only a half an hour from a large town, so we didn't have to horde supplies, at least, for a little while. I forced down the little niggle of guilt squirming in my belly, and continued to ignore Wonder Boy all the way there.

I heard Duo explaining something about me being up all night as I walked away from them all, rubbing my eyes tiredly as I made my way inside. First in got to claim the first room he likes, while the others had to share between themselves. It was the way it always went.

The place was alright. Not dusty, not grimy, and it even had furniture. Better than the last one, where we slept on roach infested mattresses, on an oil stained concrete floor.

I don't like bugs. Duo doesn't either. Another sharp pang in my chest, and I swallow heavily.

"Heero!"

My shoulders tense. I slowly turn my head, to see him framed in the doorway, his eyes catching mine and holding them. He looks…almost…hurt. I shake my head quickly, and look at the ground, trying to stop those pangs coming faster. He...I…I'm scared. I don't know why. But it's there, a living, squirming dragon in my chest, clawing at my heart.

Reasons? Oh, there are so many reasons. What if he doesn't want me anymore? What if last night was a fluke? What if…..if…I hate the word if. I _hate_ it. But…

What….if….?

He's the first person I've ever really loved before. I think he knows that. What if he thinks I can't keep it up? That I'll lose interest? That I'll…leave?

That dragon again…

What if _he_ leaves…? Fuck, I sound like a lovesick teenager.

Kami…I _am_ a lovesick teenager…

I barely even notice Quatre glancing at Trowa, eyebrows raised and questioning, as Duo leaned onto me, his hands placed square on my shoulders. He forced me back, until I had to look up, had to look into those eyes again. Unflinching. He knew what was running through my head, he saw right through me. I love that about him.

He's the only person alive, in this Universe, who knows how I feel.

"Nope, Dark. Nope." He sounded so sure, so certain…he smiled at me, the tiniest glint of humour in his eyes, and I had to shrug at the irony of it all. He grinned as he saw that unnatural tension leave me, stepping back a little, still with one hand on my shoulder. I reached out to touch his, and he sighed a little, cocking his head to the side, and smiled at me with his eyes again. Kami…

I noticed Wufei looking confused as he walked in, seeing 01 and 02 standing with one hand on each other's shoulders, staring into the other's eyes as silence spun cobwebs on the ceiling. I smiled, pushed Duo back a little, and he snorted.

"Get to bed, ya lazy bum. I'll wake ya up for dinner. I'm cookin'!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll make my own. Fried sugar is a bit too much for me to digest at the moment."

"I do not cook fried sugar!"

"…deep fried chocolate cake?" He blushed, I rolled my eyes, and left to crash for a few hours. I tossed glibly, over my shoulder as I walked away, "I think I might have a… cucumber… for …ah, dinner. Tonight."

He fell to the ground, choking on his laughter, while the other three looked completely baffled.

I woke up a couple of hours later, still feeling that sore emptiness flooding me, still feeling strange. Kami…I can't wait until he's back again…inside me…

I chuffed at my own dreamy silliness, and rolled over, feeling all hot and sticky as my clothes clung to me. My room faced the west, so the setting sun was pouring its heat directly through the windows, despite the curtains, making it almost unbearable to lie here, the touch of cotton just too much. I sighed, my hair damp with sweat, and I groaned as I rolled myself to a sitting position, wincing and readjusting my posture quickly.

That ride over was beginning to loom as the bitchiest, hell damned one _ever,_ in my mind.

I like summer. Wonder Boy doesn't wear as much clothing, for starters, but I also like the wasteland beauty the season creates. Wilting, drooping, and yet alive with insects, and heat, and fluttery storms that thrum along the ground like angry giants.

I liked the shower. The icy cold water was soothing on my aching muscles.

I dressed quickly, in a pair of old wave patterned board shorts I had…borrowed…from a thrift shop, and I left my chest bare. Too hot for even a singlet. My hair was still wet and dripping, hanging over my eyes as I wandered into the kitchen. Duo was there, alone, and he choked as he watched a bead of water slowly roll down my ribcage. Heh.

I like his face when it gets all flustered, like that.

He also looks doubly cute, and hot, in a pair of denim cut off shorts that end above his knees, and an old white singlet. His braid slithered, limp in this blasted heat, and his eyes were warm pools of ocean water as he watched me move past the doorframe.

I sat at the table, blinking innocently at him, and he grinned and bounced to the other side, sitting down with a thump that made me shudder. If I did that…right now…kami. Well. That just earned itself the mildest glare I could manage, while he chuckled.

"So…how's tricks?"

Obviously the others were busy, nowhere near us. I raised an eyebrow.

"Tricks with cucumbers? Oh, they're going really…_really_…well."

That flustered look is back. Yep.

I waited until he finished coughing, and then ran a finger slowly up my chest, circling a nipple for a few seconds, before licking the water droplets I had caught off the tip with my tongue. I better stop now, the poor little thing looks like he's about to die of asphyxiation.

Wondering how I know the best ways to tease him?

I watched some American teen movies. Treasure troves of ideas, those.

"Aw, Wonder Boy, can't take the heat?" I smirked, and looked around. "Then…well…you figure it out."

He glared at the stove, and then at me.

Heh. Heh, heh, heh….

"Right, Dark, I can't take the heat." Oh no. While I love his teasing grin, I hate it when its directed at me. "Did you know, that inside, you're hotter than the air out there? I took it pretty well though, didn't I?"

Oh, low blow. I sniffed, and turned away from him. "Plebeian."

"Heh."

"I _took it_ better than you."

He's choking again. I grabbed him a glass of water, and set it in front of him, gazing calmly as tear filled eyes glowered at me over the rim of the brown tumbler. "Bastard."

"You know it."

"I've created a monster!" Hands in the air, expression exasperated, he looked the picture of…Duo. What, you expect me to be able to describe how sexy he looked at that exact second?

Pishaw. I can barely think anyway.

I cleared my throat, and dragged the glass away from him. He mourned its loss with puppy dog eyes, watching my every single little movement as I took gentle sips of the lovely, refreshing liquid. I smirked at him with my eyes. Then I had this thought…

His lips had touched the rim, as well….

I gave that a careful lick, a half hearted attempt at capturing a kiss I couldn't get from him at the moment, and he watched with wide eyes as I handed the glass over to him, my expression serious. I jerked my head at it, then at him.

He swallowed, hard, and licked the rim too. A jolt, shooting straight from my eyes, seeing that…damn it was erotic….sight, sent it heading straight down to my groin, making me shudder. Kami…

He handed it back to me, breath coming a little faster, and I closed my eyes. I imagined I could almost taste him, that strange mixture of spearmint and ground white pepper, and I gasped as my tongue left the smooth, icy glass. The table trembled, and I saw that he was shivering as my eyes opened again, his irises growing darker and his pupils dilating as he licked his lips. Wow.

I want to jump him.

Right now.

I placed the glass carefully on the floor, preparing my body for that leap, when Trowa walked into the kitchen. He stopped dead still, green eyes widening, as he took in the situation. Me, half out of my seat, one knee on the kitchen table, looking at him in complete surprise. Duo, leaning forwards, blushing a furious shade of guilty red, even though we hadn't been caught doing anything. He blinked. Duo fled, mumbling something about 'tree ferrets'.

"You couldn't take the heat!" I called out after him, slightly annoyed. That aching…loneliness was back again. I hated that. Stupid hormones.

"Fuck you, Dark!"

"Yeah! I know!"

An frustrated scream shook the entire house, and Trowa blinked again before cautiously backing out of the kitchen. I glared at him.

This was infuriating!

Dinner time.

The others were watching us carefully, Trowa no doubt informing them that something strange was up. I tried to glare everyone into submission, found I couldn't while Duo was smiling so sweetly at me from across the table, and slumped in my seat.

I love the way he eats. As if he savours every, tiny, little insignificant crumb with all of his heart.

I love the way he devours _me_. With his eyes, and with…heh…other ways…

He choked as my eyes started to smoulder, no doubt with the lust that was flooding my system, and everybody else looked at him curiously as I forced my raging hormones back down. I sighed, and bit into a stick of celery.

I was sexually frustrated, horny, hot, and there was no way to relieve myself fully without Wonder Boy being involved with it. I glared at him, and he glared right back, no doubt still pissed off about the bucket of water I had chucked on him when I finally found him.

Serves him right. Making me limp around, looking for his sorry ass.

Kami, I want him so bad it hurts. Literally.

"So…uh…how did the mission go?" Quatre asked softly, as he poked hesitantly at the fried…thing…Duo had created. Taking pity on him, I shoved my plate of salad veggies towards him, and he took a slice of carrot with a grateful look.

"It went perfectly! In, out, straight up bloody brilliant job. Though looking through loose leafed files was a _nightmare_, wasn't it 'Ro?"

I nodded, smearing some tartare sauce on top of a long slice of cucumber. He stared at it for a moment, swallowing hard, before he continued.

"Wasn't that hard to fit in, either. Heero's glares drove away about 99 of the population" He suddenly grinned at me, finding it terribly amusing. "Though this girl attached herself to him, so funny! Drew her number on his locker with lipstick, left underwear in front of our door…like Relena, wasn't she?" I shivered, still a little terrified at the memory, and Wufei chuckled as he dug through his rice, looking for tuna pieces.

I suddenly realised what he had said. "In and out?" I raised an eyebrow, and he choked on a batter covered bony looking thing. Trowa blinked at him, then at me, and Quatre look confused.

"Uh…"

"You got stuck in an air vent." I snorted. "Hardly in and out." No such thing had happened, of course. I just wanted to make him blush again. Oh wait…air vent…stuck…crap.

He looks so sweet when he blushes.

"Oh…right…well, hardly my fault the system design was fucked up." He wasn't lying; it had been. A nightmare of twisting passages, odd rooms in even odder places, and strange billowing air conditioning ducts. Luckily we had obtained the floor plans from a 'sneak', otherwise we'd still be there.

"Hn." He's got a little bit of ketchup on his bottom lip. Kami…it's begging me to lean over, and lick it off, one broad sweep of my tongue…

"So, what else happened on this mission of doom?"

"Weeeeelll, Wuffers, lots of things happened. Yep, things." He ate another mercilessly fried meaty treat.

He blinked. I blinked.

Duo wasn't usually this evasive. He liked to tell, in long and windy stories that usually lasted a few days, every single little detail of a mission, and pantomimed great acts that left Quatre in hysterics for hours. I dragged a finger across my throat, cut it out, but he shook his head frantically and raised his shoulders. He didn't know what to do!

Everybody was staring at him now.

Baka!

"Duo…was…well." Everybody was looking at _me _now, aquamarine and emerald and onyx eyes blinking as I fished for words. Duo looked agonised, picked up his braid, and began chewing on the end of it. I wouldn't force him to lie. That was too cruel.

"What I mean to say….is…I got….injured." Yeah, that'll do. I nodded, and ate a slice of apple, staring at my plate. I just _know_ that braided baka is laughing at me with his eyes.

"Injured?" Quatre sounded concerned.

"Yes." I glared at everybody. "Some stupid, idiotic, crazy, suicidal _bastard_ kicked me in the ass."

Duo choked, and fell off his seat.

"Yeah, admit the guilt" I sneered.

Wufei looked shocked. "How the _hell_ did that happen?"

I sighed, and poked at a chunk of melon with a fork. "We were just getting back, from destroying the documents, when this silly little shit decided to go and have a panic attack." Well, he did get all panicky, just as he was about to…yeah…inside…I force my hormones back down, and glare at him as he returns to his seat.

"So, I tried to calm him down, and he goes nuts! Kicked me in the ass. Felt so ashamed he didn't want to tell anybody about it." Duo's eyes widened, as he guessed a hidden meaning behind those words. I shook my head minutely. I didn't mean it like that. He looked slightly relieved, though still a little worried.

"Um…" They looked at Duo, shocked.

"Doesn't hurt that much, does it?" Duo tossed it out glibly, though I could tell he was really asking me. So I really told him.

"That bloody, horrendous, hell damned car didn't help things. And the fact that I can't sit right sorta informs you."

He looked so guilty I relented, and sighing, patted him gently on the hand. "Not your fault. These things happen, when stuff like that happens to people doing the happenings." Kami. What did I just say?

Who cares. The attention is off of him, leaving him looking at me gratefully, and I smirked at him as I continued to nibble on a piece of pear. He owes me a blow job for this.

At the very least a hand job. Hell, I'd settle for a sloppy kiss, as long as we're naked.

"Riiiight…" Wufei stared at me suspiciously, chewing on a piece of tuna, with his eyes full of their usual deliberate fury…and fluffy sweet suspicion. I winced, shifting on my seat uneasily, and Trowa had the gall to try and hide a smile! As if me having a sore butt is a laughing matter!

Bastards!

I growled, and Duo threw a piece of fried junk at me, trying to head off the explosion that could end up with a few people dead. Or at least judiciously kicked in their own butts. I blinked, and then glared at him.

"You. Owe. Me." I finally ground out.

"Will that be cash or cheque, sir?" I _hate_ that teasing grin!

"_Noooo_, nothing like that." I smirked. "I'll just kick _you_ in the ass next time."

He went white so fast I found it hilarious. I love seeing Wonder Boy shocked to his very, inner most secret core.

"You_ wouldn't_! I mean, _you_, I, we, but, no, wait, please, can we sort this out _rationally_?"

"Oh no, I think I might enjoy it." I was confusing the other three, Duo looked horrified, and I _was_ enjoying myself tremendously.

"But…you…you…._you_, Heero, _you_! You…_you_ do that sort of thing!"

"I'm confused" Trowa stated after a moment, looking back and forth between us, as if we was watching a tennis match. "How can you, Duo, who kicked Heero in the ass, say that no, Heero does that sort of thing? Bloody confusing." He shook his head sadly, and bravely nibbled on a fried piece of meat that looked like a golf club.

"It depends" I said softly, "If you want to know all the details of that kick in the ass."

Duo went very still, his eyes as deep and dark as pools of the night sky.

"Do you want to tell them?" he asked gently, still with that…odd look.

"What, tell them that you were wearing my steel capped sneakers after your own caught fire destroying the documents? No, I don't want to tell them that." I snorted as that odd look disappeared, though…there was a flash, before it left…no. He wouldn't want to tell them, I'm sure of it. Wonder Boy can be the most private person in the world sometimes. "Do you really know how much it hurts right now? Bloody steel caps…"

"Uh…sorry?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Right." I glared fiercely at him. "If you were a girl, and I was feeling like it, I would want a blowjob as an apology." He fell off his chair again, and Quatre started choking on his carrot stick. Wufei's bowl of rice went flying, the tuna already liberated, and Trowa patted Quatre on the back gently, green eyes as wide as I have ever seen them. They all looked at me at once, identical expressions of shock making me feel defensive, and Duo spluttered from his position on the floor.

I narrowed my eyes. "What?"

"_Dark_!"

"_Wonder_" I sneered. "Stands to reason, doesn't it? I haven't had a blow job in two weeks."

"_DARK_!"

I glared at his braid convulsing on the floor, as he laughed, a lilting choking sound that nevertheless made my heart glow with warmth. Kami, I have it bad.

"I want a blowjob. Can we go back to that school?"

Heh, Duo was right. Bug-eyed looks are hilarious.

Nope.

I tossed the other way, one hand under my pillow, legs skewering to either side of the mattress, trying to catch a hint of coolness.

No way.

I rolled on my back, glaring at the ceiling as my lower back protested lazily. This mattress was way too soft.

No.

I just…kami, I couldn't get comfortable!

I growled, and tried to smother myself with my own pillow.

After explaining to the guys that I had been joking…sort of…about the whole 'blowjob' thingy, and sending a few meaningful glances in Wonder Boys direction, which he had ignored with a gentle smile, I had stormed off to bed, leaving them to unpack their stuff and maybe watch a movie. I didn't want to watch it, some old time war crap which would remind me of too many things, and Duo had declined as well, claiming he was going for a swim in the dam, a few miles away.

I rolled onto my side again, knees tucked up into my chest, in the foetal position. This is…stupid.

Alright, I miss him, so what?

Bloody ridiculous hormones, and damn my warming heart. Damn it all to hell, along with the tube of lube I _know_ is glaring at me, from my bag in the corner.

_Use me! Use me! Use me, you pathetic bastard!_

Can't. _He's_ not here at the moment. Would you like me to take a message?

It fell silent.

I hate the tube of lube right now.

Even though…I want him to use it again…on me…

I love him. Admitted, not denied, and I'd been very stupid trying to hide the fact from myself. Happy, God, you miserable asinine asshole? I've fallen in love with him, ok? Can I just go to sleep now?

It got even hotter, if that was possible. Damn.

I know I'm sulking, but you can't really stop once you've got a full head of steam on the thing. It's like trying to shift a house with your bare hands.

I blinked.

I probably _could_ move this house with my bare hands. A sigh, gentle voice in the dark.

I miss him.

There's the sex. There's that pitiful emptiness I just can't seem to get rid off. But there's also…this emptiness elsewhere…

I want him near me again. I want to go to sleep in his arms, knowing I'll always be safe with him. I want him to brush the hair off my forehead again, gentle as I lay against him, so protected. I want him to say that name, 'Dark Love', in that voice that sends shivers up and down my spine, just by the sheer affection hiding so badly in his tone.

I'm stupid.

This is stupid.

I want to be able to do those things all the time.

Stupid pillow. Who uses duck down nowadays, anyway? This thing is so full of dust I'll be surprised if I don't have an asthma attack and die during the night.

Maybe I don't love him? Maybe I'm just obsessed?

We had been…going out, I guess…for months. He had told me, in the very first week, that he loved me.

How was I supposed to know I loved him as well?

And then, when I finally figured it out, it hit me in a tidal wave of emotions and sensations so badly I think I'm drowning in it.

Drowning in this feeling.

Maybe I want it to kill me. Death by love. It wouldn't be so bad, right?

Ah, there it is. I'm starting to relax.

No, I'm not drowning.

I just need to stand back, a little, to observe this clinically. Sounds dreadful for trying to reason with love, right? If I don't, I _will_ become obsessed, and that's not very good for both of us. Not at all. Kami, where to begin…?

The sex. It's another form of affection, for us, as well as being a relief, and a comfort. I've never really experienced those three things before, and certainly not all at once. So…to put it bluntly, I had been starving for affection, without realising it, before Wonder Boy became such an central part of my life. It was only natural that once I got a taste of it I would be hungry for more.

Now that you mention it…thinking over that part clearly, my hormones backing down…that emptiness is starting to fade. Damn, it was psychological! I had wanted him inside me, because it delivered those three on a lust covered silver platter! It's all starting to make a bit of sense…kami…I could have really screwed this up…

The touching. I want to be near him, but all of the time is not right. Even I know that. What was it about touching him made me feel as if I couldn't live without it?

I sighed as I rolled onto my back, folding my hands behind my head as I sank into the mattress, it receiving my body gratefully.

Maybe…because…he's safe?

I know I've said it before, but…he _is_…safe. He won't hit me, or…or torture me, and he won't…do horrible things when I do something wrong. He's like a safety net. I've never really had….one of…thos-

_-warm sunlight, flowers on a gentle hill, blue sky above, so small and yet she's laughing, swinging me upwards, into that endless blue sky, happy, safe, safe, safe…_-

-what the fuck?

What the hell was that?

I'm...I'm shaking? Why? That memory…who was that?

Long, brown…nearly black hair…slanted eyes, so like mine…the tiniest hints of blue in their deep black be…

Right. The teasing, and the jokes. Right. Don't think about…that…that woman…

We do it…because we're best friends. Have been for a long time now. It was so much a part of us, that when we did start…going out…it was natural, an easy and pleasurable thing to do. Kami, I don't think we could ever survive without a sense of humour. Being pilots, and knowing what that's like, you have to see the funny side of things.

Or you go insane, with only the glittering consoles to comfort you.

Try the touching thing again.

I want him near me, because I know he can't…won't…would never deliberately hurt me.

There. Was that so hard? Can you stop this tsunami before it kills you both?

Blinking, into the darkness, I was surprised…that…I could.

I would never let it stop entirely, for that was the death of love, and the death of everything else with it.

But…my body relaxed, and I slumped fully, eyes wide and shocked.

I could make it so it's just love. Not this growing obsession with touch. And I realised…that it was already fading…I don't need him that badly…I don't _need_ him at _all_…but…I do _want_ him…

There would be times when I wanted to be held, but also times I would want to hold him too, and times I would want to be by myself. There would be times when I wanted to joke around with him, but also times I would want to be serious, and sad, and afraid. There would be times when we made love, and times where we wouldn't, but we would always have the option without pressure.

This wasn't just me; it was him, too.

I had got so caught up in this new feeling I almost forgot who he is, what he is, what he may always be to me.

He's my best friend. He's my glittering chatterbox. He's my death, with a smile as cold as frozen iron. And as warm as the fluttering of my heart.

He's my warmth. My weakness, and my strength. My love.

My first love.

Kami…have I ever understood what that could mean?

It's him, too…

I can love him now. I won't smother, or demand, or beg. I'll be…Heero. His Dark Love.

He'll be Duo. My Wonder Boy.

That's all it ever needed to be. I don't need sex, though it's nice, and I don't need kissing. I don't need to be held and patted and reassured like a damn dog. I don't need him constantly, like I thought I did.

I…have the option of approaching him. That's all love is. An option… to greater happiness….

A want. Never a need. A need is an obsession, and this thing I feel for him…I could never demand it. It's just…there. It's a part of us. That damn string tying us together, knots around our touching hands.

A want.

Was this bed always this comfortable? Kami, I wonder if I can sneak it to the next place when we have to move…

I fall asleep, and dream of being pushed on swings, a wonderful woman wearing a fluttering blue dress swinging me higher, loving me even as she pushes me away. And it scares the hell out of me. Because I can remember her lying dead, on the ground, with me trying to close a gaping hole in her neck.

With hands that were too small.

If there's one thing us Gundam pilots have learned about each other, it's that you never go near another upset pilot.

Best Case Scenario: You get punched out.

Worst Case Scenario: You find Heero Yuy, shivering and nearly retching in a corner of the kitchen. Trying to fill himself up with so much water you know he'll die if you can't get it off of him. And he looks likes he's out of his mind too, don't forget that.

Worst Case Scenarios always lead to D.E.A.T.H. Destruction of Either Arms, Torso or Head. As He Rips You Apart, that is. But that wouldn't fit into D.E.A.T.H.

Well, that's what J told me, the perverted old bastard.

I'm scaring Quatre, and I feel ashamed. But I can't stop.

I won't let him come near me, even as my belly stretches tight, too much water all at once. Because, of that stupid fucking dream, I woke up with the taste of her blood in my mouth, and I can't get it out. I've tried everything. Toothpaste, mouthwash, lemons, vinegar, dish detergent and now water, to try and flush it away.

It's not working. Damn. Fucking Damn.

I remember now. I remember who she is.

I'm sort of tasting my own blood. Ain't that just the funniest damn thing you've ever heard? I can't laugh about it, though.

Trowa left already, to get Duo, and try and find Wufei, who had taken the truck and headed for town a couple of hours ago. So that left frail little Quatre with me, aquamarine eyes shining like lamps in the dark, who was trying to calm me down by talking to me softly. I can't hear him though-

-_don't hurt my baby, don't you dare hurt him/my sweet little kiddo, how about pancakes for breakfa/run, run, run…!-_

-over her voice in my head.

I can't stop shaking. And I remember other times, like this.

Once, when I was twelve. I convinced myself her blood was still on my hands, and rubbed them so raw they bled for a week.

Last year. I cut my leg open to the bone, sure that a scratch I had there when she died had taken her blood inside, and it was trying to get out. That I needed to help it out.

I know why I do this.

I just can't admit to myself that my mother is dead, that I watched her die, and that she's not coming back. Perfectly natural reaction for a child losing its parent. Right?

It doesn't make it stop.

Repressed memories, suicidal impulses, it doesn't matter. Every time this happens, every time something big occurs, I recollect, and the next day I always forget it. I don't know how. It's just like…it's gone…

Never happened.

And then I remember, and I do something stupid like this.

The next day I forget, until something triggers it again.

"Heero…please, you have to stop drinking." Quatre, sounding so worried. I let the hose, with it's triggered head that allowed you to direct the flow from the end, rather than the tap, slip into his outstretched fingers. This won't make the taste go away, I realise that now. He sighed, pulling it away from me, and turned off the tap before pulling the whole lot out of the wall and throwing it into the rubbish bin.

When he turned around, he must have seen a very odd sight; Heero Yuy, chewing a piece of soap. Well, licking it really, but the thought is the same.

My own eyes were wide as I stared into his impossibly…bloody _huge_…ones. Would it hurt to have eyes as big as that?

I let my eyes close, curling up around my bloated belly as I lay in the foetal position, using the soap like a baby would a pacifier. I hear Quatre as he slowly stands. And walks out of the room.

Since I still have my gun, I suppose. Soap in one hand, gun in the other. I glare at it a little, and suddenly, no more gun. The soap is slimy, though, so I nearly drop it, fingers fumbling, before it's secure in my grasp again.

An overgrown four year old with a deadly piece of weapon soap. Should be remade in Hollywood, have the corpse of Robert De Nero play the kid.

Yep.

Silence for minutes that feel like seconds, with me in this regressed state, and then I hear Quatre's voice again.

"I got him to stop drinking, finally. We don't know what happened, Duo! He just stumbled out of his room, white as a ghost and sweating, and so horribly silent, and he just started drinking out of the tap!"

"Has he hurt himself?" …Duo? …Wonder Boy?

"I think he'll have a sore stomach for a few days. I don't think he's ingested enough to be really harmful, but it's the other stuff as well!"

"What other stuff?"

"It's like he's trying to kill himself! He was drinking industrial strength cleaner before Trowa managed to pry it away from him! And then a whole tube of toothpaste, and lemons, God Duo, he tried to eat a whole fucking lemon!"

I heard a thump, as if someone had fallen to the floor.

"Duo? Duo, you have to help us, he's eating soap now!"

A spastic giggle, and I feel like laughing too. "He's eating soap?"

"Sucking on it like a damn chew toy!"

"Jesus, Mary and a piglet on the cross…do you have any tranq darts?"

"What?"

"Only way to get something away from Heero that he really likes." That spastic giggle, but…no…there wasn't supposed to be tears in that…he has to be happy…

"Please…try. He's a friend. And…I don't know, I can't pick it up clearly…"

"What is it?"

"It's like he's...grieving. I can't make it out! He's disgusted, but so happy, and…"

"Disgusted…?"

"With himself! And I keep getting this feeling of blood…woman's blood…I don't know. I'm exhausted just picking that little bit up."

"…I'll try."

And then he was there. Braid leaning against the floor, eyes so shadowed and…Duo. My…

"Wonder Boy…"

"Dark One, what are you trying to do?" He sounds…so scared….kami, I just want to make the blood go away.

I shuddered against the floor, the muscles in my belly clenching painfully, and I spit the bar of soap away so forcefully it shot to the other side of the room, hitting Trowa's legs, the owner yelping.

"Regression."

"Dark L…Dark One?"

"My….she….regression. It happens, sometimes. I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry."

"I _miss _her, Duo…" He jerks back, as if he's been hit. Like I've just hit him.

A savage blow to the heart.

"I couldn't stop it…it happens…"

"Is she…a good friend of yours?" His voice…it sounds….dead…what?

"She's…gone, Duo….I love her…and I never told her…never thought I would have to…she was always there…"

"Where is she, Heero. We could find her for you." I've hurt him. I don't know how, but I have.

I feel the blood in his voice.

"No, no, no, no, no, not like that!" I pull myself up, cursing myself nine ways a fool.

"Heero…"

"Wonder Boy, no. Listen to me. No. No, not like that. I go through this when something good happens. Something big. Something big happened to me, and it's been building. I guess. You know the good thing."

He can't help the tear running down his face. I haven't just hurt him.

I've nearly destroyed him.

"Duo…I can't get her blood out of my mouth."

Three pairs of shocked eyes on me, one a deep ocean full of tears, in this deep darkness. There isn't even a moon to filter light down. We're relying on the glow from the stove, and from the stars.

"Her blood, everywhere, it won't go away."

I reach out, and then pull back…I don't want to hurt him again.

"My…my mother, Wonder Boy, my Mummy, she's dead, on the ground, and I can't stop the blood, it's everywhere, I can't stop it, my hands are too small…make…make it go away…"

I shudder, and collapse into myself. I'm glad I won't remember this in the morning.

"She…was making cakes, like we did on Sunday's, before we went to the park…and then…the explosions started…"

Her blood in my mouth….kami….make it stop…

"XJC-2891. On L1. You know…OZ massacred the area. They…they killed my Mummy…after they held her down…they made me _watch_…"

Tears, running down my cheeks, and I can't make them stop. Because…

…I'm four years old again…

"They…they raped her, and then they cut her…they didn't see me…they didn't…because…I'm so small…and her neck…big hole. Big hole. Too big. There wasn't a hole there before." I can't stop shaking.

"I can't shut the hole! It's too big! And she can't breathe…oh kami, she's still alive…and I can't help her...I can't! My hands are too small!"

My cries break the shocked silence, that held him in place, and he barrels into my side, picking me up, holding me. I love him. He still loves me. I hope he does. I hope. I hope like mad. "Please, I didn't mean to get her blood in my mouth, I wanted to kiss her goodbye, and she…blood…in my mouth…on my hands…nooo….no, Duo, no, no, no…."

"Dark One…oh Jesus…why didn't you tell me? _Why_ didn't you tell me this? Why couldn't you…tell me….tell me what happened tonight. _Tell_ me." I want to scream the pain I can hear in his voice.

I can't. I just hold onto his shirt, still damp from his swim, and cry.

Like I haven't done in…forever.

It finally stops, aeons later, and I sniffle, clutching his shirt in my fists. Quatre's still there, looking away, giving me some privacy, and Trowa is leaning against the wall, staring out of the window into the night.

"W-Wonder Boy…"

"Dark One." There's still love in his voice…I slump in relief, curling up around him, and I feel so…drained.

"I didn't m-mean to. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what? Oh 'Ro, you haven't done anything wrong." He paused, a stifled heated silence, and then added softly, "Though drinking the drain cleaner was probably a bad idea."

I laughed weakly, shuddering against his body, and he hugged my thin frame more tightly. I love him the most in the moments like this. When I can rely on him. And he knows, in the way I'm holding him back, that he can always rely on me. At least… when I'm not throwing a fit over something stupid like this.

"I won't remember this…in the morning…"

"Dark?"

"I told you already. Regression. I'm…kinda…a little kid, right now. Yanno? Repressed memories…and…"

He shivers, and his hands are so hot as they press into my back. He's finally realised. It isn't me he's holding, not the one he knows anyway, and it…scares him. Kami, it scares me too, but at least I'm not tasting the blood anymore.

"I've done this before. A couple of times….what did J say? I'm…punishing myself? Yeah, that's it…and he knows about it. About…the hand washing thing, and the knife…I thought her blood was in me. I had to get it out."

He whimpers, and starts rocking me, as you do when you comfort a terrified child. Which…in a way…is what I am right now.

"…I watched her die. It isn't so much that I don't understand it. Or that I think she's still alive, out there somewhere, looking for me. Kami, I know that's not true. I've seen enough dead people to know she would never had survived something like that. I just…miss her. And I never got a chance to grieve her. I don't even know is she's buried, or part of the trucks they ejected into space, when disease started to fester in other parts, surrounding places, from the dead. Odin…the man who trained me…found me next to her body. She was …c-c-cold, so I guessed it had been a few hours…after…the s-soldiers had left.

And then…he asked me…that question…"

His hand smooths the hair from my forehead, sticky still, from the cold sweat I had woken up in, and he turns my head so that I can look into his eyes. He looks…so sad…

"…if I w-wanted to…be…with her…"

Anger flares in his eyes, oceans darkening and thrashing, and I flinch instinctively, trying to pull away. It dies as soon as it resolves, and he buries my head into his chest again, and I can feel him trying to control his temper.

"He asked you if you wanted to be dead too? He asked a little kid that?" Shinigami's riding with him now, holding part of the reins. He's also the part I love. I love all of him, but that part of him is the one that makes me stronger. Because…I too have a dead part of myself, that I let hold the reins. Only…

...I let him reign most of the time…except with him…

"…Wonder boy. He was an assassin."

He jerks away from me a little, before I can feel his eyes, looking down at me in shock. Quatre's shifted too, looking at me now, and I know a green eye is peering at me, from under a concealing thatch of hair.

"He…he was offering me a favour."

"Death is a favour." His voice was so flat, but I could hear fury rolling under his monotonous tone.

"…it is for people like us." A whisper, so ashamed. And it came from me.

"Pilots."

"N-no…assassins. The dead people who kill the living."

A terrible silence, and then, "You mean…but…what do you mean?"

"H-he…I…I was…already…cracking. Seeing…M-Mummy like that…it tore something, inside." I pressed a hand to my heart, and closed my eyes. I'm sure he got my drift pretty quickly.

"When he…asked…me that…I broke. I shattered. He saw, and…also…saw…what he could…what he could use me for…"

Fury, rolling against me in waves, though now I know its not directed at me.

"I could get close…to the targets…he couldn't. Because…I was a child…and people don't think children…can kill…"

"Oh, Wonder Boy…I killed my first man when I was five."

I push myself away from him, because I can't bear to touch him while I say this. I…I would be tainting him…

"He was…a…politician. Someone big in OZ, and…he…he had a taste for little boys…nobody could get close, not even the best….Odin was one of the very, very best…"

I tuck my knees into my chest, my chin resting on top of them, as I stare at the corner, where wall joins wall.

"So…I was smuggled inside…I put a powder in his drink…and I hid in a cupboard until Odin came and got me…"

"Dark One. It doesn't matter. You don't need to tell me this. And no" he said, glaring at me sternly as I turn my head to look at him, sad anger flooding him and love gentling his eyes, "I don't care about that. You aren't like that at all. Just because he told you what to do, doesn't make you evil. I can see every thought in that pretty little head of yours, and I _know_ it isn't your fault."

"…I wasn't alive back then. J said it was sympathetic psychopathy."

He blinked, struggling with the words. "P-psycho-whatsit?"

"I had no emotions. I couldn't tell right from wrong. He said it was because I repressed every single memory of the life I had before Odin trained me. So, the fact was, it was like I was a machine. I don't have it anymore. It slowly faded away, and when I finally began to question myself, and my actions, when I was 9, I ...I had to kill Odin."

His mouthed those words back to me, in the darkness, eyes wide.

"He got shot. Near a base, too far away to get to a hospital, or to another group…like us. Ones that could help him. He gave me J's address, gave me his gun, gave me the second most important words in my life, and…well…"

I shrugged, head leaning forwards onto my knees.

"He was…kind to me. He kept me alive, when I would have starved to death…trying to keep my Mummy's neck together, even though she was dead…he taught me about love."

I flinched again as he flew upwards, towering over me, and Trowa had to pull Quatre away when he felt the anger rolling down at me, from him. This time he was infuriated with _me_. They watched with wide eyes as Shinigami snarled, but I was strong enough to withstand it. Because…I know…I can see…

I see that he's furious for thinking a monster like Odin could teach me anything about love…

I stare back at him calmly.

"Love! _Love_? He taught you _love_!"

"I was a hindrance to him, when I got too big to excite the sicker one's tastes. I never really knew what that meant, until you told me those things…"

"I...I can't believe you could be so….so…_stupid_, to think he taught you-"

"He taught me death, Duo Maxwell. Death is a kind of love. Can't you see that? He kept me alive, and around, because he loved me. Like a father would."

He was speechless with anger.

"He wanted to send me away, to live a normal life, but...he died before he could. Don't you think I don't hate him?"

He flinched away from the venom in my voice.

"I hate him for taking advantage of me. For having the gall to tell me to follow my feelings, just before I put a gun to his head and blew the trigger, to put him out of his pain and misery. I hate him for making me kill people, for pretending to be father and son when we had to get close to targets. For making me insane that day, above my Mummy's murdered body. For making me emotionless, when I had to grieve. I hate him because he kept me alive."

"If he hadn't taught me the things I know, I wouldn't be a Gundam pilot. Oz would still be destroying everything, and you would be stuck with an incompetent shit who can't handle Wing like its supposed to be. I wouldn't be able to kill countless soldiers, without the broken part of me separating the good part of me from the crap that goes along with that. I wouldn't be here. I wouldn't be Heero."

They look shocked, and scared, because my voice…it's a little kids, now. I'm saying all this to them in the voice of a child. I'm regressing at a faster rate. And...I still love him. All of myself loves him.

Wow. Kami, even the emotionless soldier loves him.

"I wouldn't be the Dark."

He sits back down again, mirroring my posture, and stares at me with wide eyes.

"What happened…last night…I wouldn't have been there, if it wasn't for him."

He hangs his head.

"I wouldn't be the person I am. Because the past is like a fractured crystal. Millions of paths, and fissures, and different roads. All the things he did led me to this moment. All the things I've become, and then evolved from, led me to this minute. Everything in my life has led me to this point, and I wouldn't give it up for the world."

"Because…the dark is the light."

He knows what I mean. I love you. That's what I'm saying.

"And frankly, I don't care if you don't anymore, because I do, and I always will, and…if you…hate me, for what I am, then I don't deserve yours. But you deserve mine. Everybody deserves it, Wonder Boy."

He shakes his head. "I still…I always…will…I…this part of you, I…"

He stands up suddenly, making a furious gesture with his hand, cutting the air with the side like a knife. "I do! This part of you is like a part of me! We're all dead somewhere inside, and I'm no different! If you knew what-"

"Shinigami. The anger. I know. I have the Soldier, and his mask."

"We all have masks…" Trowa, whispering into the night. Quatre, looking at all of us with tears in his eyes.

"The dead inside…the dead we carry…" Who knew that the blonde could sound…so dark, and …so sad…?

"We don't need them anymore!" Duo shouts suddenly. "We have each other! We have this, this….this moment!"

"We have the strings holding us."

They stare at me. Because…I sound happy…

"From heart to heart, and back again, and the ocean holding us safe. The warm current taking us where we should go."

I stand up, shedding the broken child, and I stand before my love with the real me. Just Heero. Or whatever my name was. It doesn't matter anyway…because I'm just…me.

"We're…us. We're the one's holding the dark back, to keep the light safe. But we are part of the light, and all of this is tearing us apart. The strings hold us together. I know that you don't want the others to know, and-"

"What gave you that idea…?"

"-I don't mind, because if you're happy, then everything's all right. I have the string. I don't need anything else."

"I…I don't understand…"

"I thought it was need. It's not. It's a want." I laugh, and it sounds so beautiful in the misery of this room. I love this moment. Because I can finally tell him.

"Love is only an option to greater happiness. But…it's not just an option to me."

"My mother taught me happiness. Odin taught me love. And you showed me how to believe in them."

I laugh again, and walk away until I came to the window, leaning on the sill with my arms and staring into the night sky, stars scattered like diamonds on a sea of deep blue velvet. More wealth than anything in the world…except for him.

"Hmm…I don't care about death. I never did, really. It's a part of our lives. I can hate the blood in my mouth, and I can try to get rid of it, but at least I have that. At least I can remember her for a few more hours. And I have you. I don't need anything else, not really."

"You really mean that?" He sounds so hopeful, and I turn and grin at him, and he's Duo again, Shinigami banished back to the darker half of his soul, and he's smiling at me with hope.

"Baka! I just spent the past half hour pouring my soul out to you, and you think I don't know what I mean?" I snorted, and shook my head. "Seriously, if you can't take the heat, let me take it for you at least."

"Cucumber boy."

I sniff, and glare minutely. "Plebeian."

"Heh. So…you're okay now?"

"'Course. Though I do want to go back to the old safe house, or the school." I wiggle my eyebrows suggestively, and he smirks. Trowa and Quatre start blinking again, and I know things are alright again. We're made to survive tougher moments than those ones we just had. But at least…now…

"Wufei, you bastard, stop hiding in the cupboard."

He grinned sheepishly as he crawled out of it. I don't even know how he got in there without us noticing. But, there he was, trying to wipe away suspiciously silver tracks on his cheeks, and he glared at me when I noticed. "It was very dusty" he muttered, and Duo laughed and slung an arm around his shoulder.

At least we have each other.

"Dark…do you want to tell them?" That odd look is back again, his eyes so gentle…the ocean during a calm night…

"I…didn't think you wanted to."

"I've been wanting to tell them since the very beginning! I thought you didn't! Idiot!" Wufei blinks at him, and steps out of the bouncing boys personal space, looking cautious. He turned to me. "What are you two talking about?"

I can't help it; I start laughing.

"_Dark_! Asshole! Fuck you!"

"Yeah, I know" I chuckled, and he giggled suddenly, braid swinging as he leaned back, an eye smile literally beaming at me across the room. Trowa groaned, and smacked himself on the side of the head. "I hate confusing things…"

"Cherry pie…oh, sweet, sweet cherry pie…" I think they think I've lost it again. I flap a hand at Duo, and he turns white, and then blushes so much he looks like a tomato. I love him when he looks like a tomato. "Heero Yuy!"

I smirk. "Well, you did."

"Well, yeah. Doesn't mean you have to put it like that!"

I shrugged. "I liked it. It was…nice."

He boggles at me, and Quatre sighs, looking frustrated. "Nice? Nice? Twenty damn minutes are more than nice!"

"You counted too?"

"God…I need a drink…" Wufei walks away, holding his head in his hands.

U

None of us can sleep, after all the things that have happened. I don't want to wake up tomorrow just yet, knowing that when I do, I probably won't remember. But at least Wonder Boy is here, comforting me with the smiles from his eyes, and his hand as it brushes against mine every now and then, before he moves to the other side of the room, making it harder for him to catch.

We still haven't told them.

Duo had been about to when I shook my head minutely, raising my left hand a little in a 'wait' gesture. He had blinked at me, looking confused, before he sighed and nodded. I love him when he trusts me.

So we were sitting in the living room, all of them watching us as I chucked popcorn towards Duo, who caught it with his mouth and a smile. The baka absolutely loves food. Kami, I like food too…especially….if I get to eat it off of his body…I blush a little, and he chokes on the next kernel of heated corn, probably because of the lusty look I sent him.

After he recovered, he said slowly, "Dark…seriously…are we gonna tell them or not?"

I hesitated, before saying softly, "It might make…problems."

Wonder Boy blinked, before he realised what I meant. "You mean…they might not want to know us anymore? But …but that's ridiculous!"

"Not all people are tolerant."

"But we can trust them! They're…"

"Family, I know." I nodded, and they all looked surprised, and then quietly pleased. Probably because I've never really admitted a connection to them before, because I only felt comfortable doing that with Duo. But…as I realised tonight…I needed to accept that they were a huge part of my life too.

I sighed, and turned to them, eyebrows drawn together as I crossed my legs at the ankles. "You know something's up."

Trowa looked at me evenly, his green eyes like gems in the mellow light coming from the lamp. "It's pretty obvious" he agreed softly.

"You didn't really buy that I got kicked in the ass, and that's why Duo didn't go into hysterics about the mission, like he usually does."

Wufei cocked his head, and nodded. "I thought it a little strange."

"The point is…" I hesitated, and rubbed the back of my head with one hand. "Point is…I did get…kinda hurt." I had to ignore that sudden flash of worry in Duo's eyes as I glared at him. "For the love of God, Wonder Boy, it isn't that bad! I've been telling you that all day!"

He looked at his lap, and Quatre blinked at me. His blonde hair shifted as he leaned forwards, looking at me intently, and he asked, "Did you get captured?"

"No. Nothing like that. The mission was a total success."

"I get first dibs on the sheet" Duo muttered, playing with the end of the braid. "And I said I would get dibs on something else, remember?" I asked smoothly, and he choked and fell off his chair.

I snorted, and shook my head sadly. "Baka." They all blinked.

"So, are you gonna tell us or not?" Wufei growled, black eyes flashing as he leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his chest. Duo blushed as he sat back down, and I sent him the smallest of obnoxious grins, which he returned, but in a larger variety. I love that cheeky smile on his beautiful mouth, that makes his cheeks flush with pink colour. I had to stifle...well, something down below, because he looks so sexy like that.

"Have you noticed…changes, between me and Duo?"

Trowa nodded, and Quatre smiled. "It's like…I dunno, suddenly you were best friends. Around us. I knew you had been, for a while, but…you showed us…I remember I felt so happy for you two."

I grinned. "Like you and Trowa. Best friends." I sighed, and plucked at a loose thread on my board shorts. I still didn't have a shirt on. And Duo couldn't really keep his eyes off me. I snorted. Ecchi.

"Yeah…"

"And Wuffers is everybody's best friend." Wufei blushed as Duo smiled at him warmly, a smile which I mirrored, and I guess he couldn't stand the double assault. "We love ya, Wuffers, even old Blank Face over there."

"Whatever, Maxwell" he said sharply, though I could tell me was gladdened by his words.

"And…something else happened, around four months ago."

"Oh yeah?" Quatre asked, aquamarine eyes quizzical. "I remember that…Duo kept tackling you, and you let him…" I blushed, because those 'tackles' had been disguised hugs. Kami, I loved those tackles. Heh. Maybe I'm the perverted one, not him.

"Heh. Heh, heh, heh, heh…"

"Shut up, Wonder Boy."

"That's another thing. Why do you keep calling him that?" Why? Because I love the skinny little white boy. The one with the eyes full of the ocean, and the smile which can warm my heart with the barest of effort. Yep.

"Because…he's wonderful." They blinked at the warmth in my tone.

"Okaaaay…and why do you call Heero Dark, Duo?"

This time I was the one who blushed, and nearly fell off the couch. "Don't tell them" I hissed to him, but his teasing grin came back full force, and I felt a certain kind of panic start up somewhere in the area of my belly. "Oh, why not?"

"It's…private! And embarrassing!"

"Embarrassing?" His grin was merciless, and I gulped as his shoulder muscles stretched as he leaned towards me. "But 'Ro…it was so nice when you said those words. You know what they nearly made me do."

I scowled at him. "I know. I felt it."

He blinked. They blinked. And I suddenly felt smug.

"Yep. I _really_ felt it."

He laughed as he blushed, a warm dark sound, like when he had…prepared me. I felt the same dark purring, in my mind, as well. God, he can turn me on so fast. I love him for that.

"I'm glad."

"Ok, you're back to confusing me now." Poor little Trowa, looking so frustrated.

"It's just a nickname, guys. That's all" Wonder Boy said, sparing me from embarrassment and humiliation. I smiled gratefully at him, and rubbed my belly a little. It was still a little sore, from my water hysteria, but it was slowly fading as my body coped with it swiftly.

Trowa sighed. "Can you tell me about the tree ferrets then?" Quatre looked at him askance, and Wufei had a look on his face not unlike suspicion of insanity.

"Oh. The glass incident. Um, ok."

"Yeah, the glass incident…" I said dreamily, and I yelped when Duo chucked one of his flip flops at me. "Oy! Injured person, here!"

"You're not injured there, Dark" he said as he giggled. I growled, glaring at him darkly. "Right, Wonder Boy. I'm the one doing the preparing next time, ya hear me?" He went white again, and looked like he was about to faint.

"Oh, for the love of God! Just tell us! It's not like we'll hate you or anything, if that's what you're worried about!" Quatre looked incensed, and Duo and I shared a glance, before he nodded softly. "It's time" he said, very gently, and sent me an encouraging smile.

I coughed. "Uh…right. Ok. Four months ago… I was standing in the kitchen of the Orange Hills safe house. Remember that one?" They nodded, looking perplexed, probably wondering what I was going on about, and I sighed as I pulled my legs beneath me, to sit on them cross legged. "Alright…well...I thought I was all alone, ok? I was waiting for Quatre to come back, so I could ask him about the base plans for Tirebore…that one in England, near the castle ruins. Anyway, I was looking out the back door, watching the clouds…it looked like rain that day…"

"You remember that far back?" Wufei interrupted, and I nodded softly. "I remember nearly everything, if I choose to do so. I want to remember that day forever."

"You do?" Duo asked, and it looked like tears were rising in his eyes, contradicting with his face splitting grin. I sent him the warmest smile I could, and nodded again. Oh kami, I love him because he does things like that. Contradictions. That's Duo Maxwell, nothing but opposites…and yet…he's all of them combined….so strange…

"Yeah…and…I remember…I was feeling kinda…lonely. I didn't know why. I do now, and you'll understand in a minute…it was getting colder, and the smell of rain was everywhere. I remember thinking it was beautiful, the way the clouds were tinged with green…so lovely."

I turned to glare at Duo. "You were very lucky I didn't kill you, when you went and pulled that stunt." He looked surprised, and then sheepish, and everybody looked askance at me. Trowa gestured with his hand, impatient with me when I stopped the explanation, and I sighed, my eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

"I felt hands on my shoulders. He was lucky I was so relaxed, otherwise…well…you can imagine." Everybody nodded, because everybody knows you don't just sneak up on a Gundam pilot, especially not 01, and hope to get away unscathed. "And…he spun me around…and…well…" I looked down at my hands. "He…he kissed me."

There was silence. I swear I could feel the heat of Duo's blush five feet away from him.

And then…

"…What?" Quatre, his voice very small and full of amazement.

"Yeah, you heard me right. He kissed me."

"Uh…" Wufei sounded stunned, and when I looked up, I could see he was. Totally, completely surprised.

"I remember…I was thinking…what the hell is he _doing_? What…he was…I sooo did not understand it." I sighed, and rolled my eyes.

Duo pulled his shirt over his head, hiding his burning face from view, and I snorted. "Coward" I muttered, and everybody could see him shrug, even through his distorted tank top.

"And? What happened next?" Trowa asked, and even though he looked blasé, I could tell he was as shocked as the other two.

"Did you hit him?"

"No, Wufei, I didn't hit him. Though I kinda wish I did, especially now." I glared at him, and he shivered, knowing what I was doing. I love that he knows me so well by now. And I love the fact that pulling his tank top up has revealed a couple of inches of smooth, creamy belly, beautifully showing…I shook my head, clearing away hentai thoughts.

"Well…he leapt back, like he couldn't believe what he was doing…"

"I didn't" come the muffled mutter, and I grinned.

"And then…kami…his eyes…"

"What about my eyes?' His head emerged again, his eyes curious as he pinned me to my seat, that gaze burning through me, and destroying me, like it always did.

"Well…I saw…something."

"Saw?" Quatre blinked, rubbing his eyes as if he couldn't believe what _he_ was seeing.

I shrugged sheepishly. "So…I jerked him forwards, and I kissed him back."

Ok, now that just completely floored them.

I sighed. "I didn't even really know what a kiss was, back then…seen people doing it, but I thought it…was…a little weird, you know? Anyway, I kissed him, and he smiled, and I smiled, and…I dunno. I think I woke up a little."

"Did you punch him then?"

"Damn it Wuffers, do you _want_ so see me hurt or something?"

"To put it truthfully, Maxwell, no. But…it would have been funny to see." Duo glared at him, muttering inaudibly.

I laughed. "No, I didn't, but…well…I realised something. See, I had shoved down my emotions for so long, so roughly, I hadn't realised…that I sorta…found him…cute."

He grinned, while everybody else gaped. "You think I'm cute?"

I shook my head. "Now I think you're fucking beautiful, but we can talk about that later."

His fading blush returned viciously, a nuclear blush, and I smiled.

"Anyway, we…talked for a little while, about…some stuff. Then…we…uh…"

"I dragged him out to Deathscythe, and made out with him for three hours." Totally shameless, my Wonder Boy is.

"Duo, you're going to give them heart attacks." Well, at least Quatre. The little blonde looked like he was about to start hyperventilating. I gave him a concerned glance.

Quatre blinked at me, still gasping.

"Well, yeah. I guess…"

"That was when…"

"We started going…"

"Out with each other" I finished, and nodded. Trowa rolled his eyes.

"That's all it is? God damn it, Yuy, I could have told you that yesterday afternoon. I wondered about it, but now…hearing it straight from the horses mouth…"

I blinked, and he smirked. "Tree ferrets? You were about to jump him. I first thought you were about to kill him, or at least belt him, but now…jump. Yeah."

Duo gaped at me. "You were? Jump me? As in…"

I shrugged. "I wanted to, yeah, but then you ran off…" I looked mock disappointed. "And then I spent all night lonely…and the tube of lube started talking to me…"

"Lube? Lube! You're having sex!"

"Are we having sex?"

"No, Heero, we aren't ."

"Yeah, we're making…kami, being macho sucks…we make love. That's all." I shrugged. Quatre smiled as I blushed, and looked at my hands again.

I love it when Duo blushes, and starts to fidget.

"And before anyone asks, I'm-"

"Yeah! You better bloody remember it, Dark! Duo Maxwell bottoms for no one, not even Heero fucking Yuy!" He looked a little deranged. Wufei, who was closest to him, backed away slowly. "Alright, Maxwell, calm down…"

"Of course not. You're…you have to be the one. I…I'm just naturally like this. I…well, not need, I've already sorted that crap out…" He blinked, not understanding, and I growled.

"Do I have to say it in front of them?"

"Say what?" Trowa, smirking again. Kami damn it.

"I'm the bottom! I have to be! I…fuck, Duo, if you knew, you would want to be one too…" Everybody looked like they were about to pass out, and Duo looked …well, he looked damn sexy with that quirky little grin on his joking face.

"It's…well…before a month ago, I didn't really even know what sex was. Right, Duo?" He nodded, and looked sad.

"I couldn't believe it…until I remembered how much of a bastard J can be. He would do something like that, not tell you, just so you would have more focus." I nodded, in complete agreement.

"Exactly. Living under J's command…well…to put it bluntly, it was hell."

Trowa stopped smirking. "What…do you mean?"

I sighed, for the umpteenth time that night. "Everything is about the mission. None of you, even Duo, needs to know anything more than that."

They stared at me. I shrugged. "Training wasn't exactly about learning how to pilot Wing. That's all you need to know. I don't want to give you nightmares, Wonder Boy. Don't make me tell you." I love it when he understands, and he's nodding now, looking at me with those miracle eyes full of softness. I nod back.

"I'm bottom, because…that's the way I feel good. I like being underneath someone else's control, even if he doesn't realise it."

"You're not under my control!" Duo looked furious. "Don't ever think that!"

"Oh, you bloody idiot! Not like that! I meant…the direction! Being held! The way you…you either lift me up, like you did, or just hold me, when you…when you…kami! I like it! Not control…more…guidance…"

I suppose seeing Heero Yuy fish around for words is more amusing than I realised, because Wufei's almost having a conniption, laughing himself stupid.

I glare at Duo, who's still glaring at me. "It's like the sloppy kisses" I say finally.

He blinks.

"Because…you lead, in that part. You…care. It's not control…I don't know how to say it, but it's definitely not that. I like it…to feel your weight…and…" I blush. "Well…do you know how…exciting…it is, to have someone…do those things to you?"

He shook his head, looking slightly confused.

Quatre was blushing, and then he buried his face in a cushion. Wufei was still laughing. And Trowa was gazing at me calmly.

"It…it's like…being cradled. And locked in place. It's…beautiful. And…incredibly erotic." Wufei's laugh sort of strangled itself in his throat, whipping around to stare at me wide eyed, as everybody, excluding Quatre who's face was still hidden, was doing. Even Duo. Heero Yuy, apparently, also does not say things like 'erotic'.

"And…when you were…" I blushed furiously. "When you were…hell, when you were inside me, it was the best damn fucking feeling I have _ever _had, apart from loving you and knowing you love me, and if you _ever_ make fun of me for feeling like that about it, then…"

"I liked it too." So quiet, so soft. I looked at Duo, who was gazing at me seriously.

"You were holding me. Inside. Trusting me. God, Heero, do you know how much trust you had in me? I could have hurt you. You put yourself in a vulnerable position, you let me…inside, where no one had ever been before." I know he's not talking just about the sex. "I nearly died…and…you looked at me…when I was scared…and I saw that you weren't. Jesus Heero, you had to calm _me_ down!"

I looked away. "I wasn't _scared_, no" I agreed. "I was _terrified_."

He gasped, jerking backwards in his seat, and I refused to look at him.

"I was drowning, just realising how much…how much I loved you. How deep it went. I was terrified I would do something wrong, that if we did this thing…it would break us, somehow…but it didn't."

"You should have told me…"

"No" I said, calmly, and turned to look into his worried eyes. "It's something every uke goes through, I think. Because, yes, to be one is to put complete trust in the one you're doing it with. You have to understand, it's natural. After you…got inside, when I felt that…oh kami, Duo, you have no idea, do you?"

He looked completely flabbergasted now.

"It's fucking terrific. For me, anyway. Remember that time in the cellar?"

He nodded, blushing.

"Yeah, that. I am what I am, and it's not like it's not fantastic sex, anyway. It's better, I think."

"Better…?"

I nodded firmly. "It's…different. Being…pleasured, inside and out, and…kami, have I ever told you I love your…um…"

"Cock. You love his cock" Quatre said, muffled by his cushion. Everybody stared at him, then at me, and I swear my blush must be neon.

"Uh…yeah…"

Duo smirked, looking terribly pleased with himself, and I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Right, Wonder Boy, I love your cock. Don't be so surprised."

"Heh."

"But I can also replace you, never forget that."

He looked scared, for a moment, before a smirk of my own broke out. "Cucumbers!"

"Dark! You almost gave me a heart attack…"

"Ok. So, you guys are going out, having sex, Heero loves Duo's cock, likewise, cucumbers, lube, and that's it. Okay?" Wufei looked annoyed. "Fine, I accept it, it's cool. I don't care whether you fuck each other, or goats, but can I please get out of here? I don't know about you, but I'm fucking tired. Fuck."

Okaaaay…and he does look exhausted.

"I don't care either. Just, give us a little warning, so we won't interrupt you if you want to be private."

"Don't want an eyeful, eh?" Wonder Boy says, and I think Duo's got a new smile. I quickly save it to my memory, and fall in love with him all over again. Kami…this lovesick teenage shit has got to stop sometime, ne…?

"No. I just don't want to make you uncomfortable. It's a very private thing." Trowa looks at us steadily, and I understand this is his way of saying he approves.

Both me and Wonder Boy glance anxiously at Quatre.

Who suddenly starts squealing.

And we both blink.

"Oh, I think it's so sweet! So cute, and fluffy, and wonderful! I'm so happy for you guys!" He's bouncing, too, looking ecstatic. "I had suspicions, when I noticed Duo looking at your ass every five seconds…"

"You look at my ass?" I blink at him, non plussed, and he shrugged, waving it aside with a tilt of his head. "It's a hot ass" he explained, looking slightly embarrassed.

"And when Heero walks into a room and looks for you straight away, Duo…"

"You do?" I nod, and he looks so…awed, by the fact, and…flattered? Oh kami, that smirking bastard!

"You look for my ass too. Heh."

"No…I don't…I look…for your eyes." I can't look at him as I say it…because…it's too revealing. Even for us.

"And the way you guys-"

"Quatre" I say softly, cutting him off in mid bounce. "I know you're happy, but please, can you stop?"

"Oh…sorry…"

"No, it's not that. I'm just…very tired…and...I want to go to sleep."

Duo looks alarmed, suddenly. "Dark?"

"I'm…ok…it's just…I'm sore…and…I feel really guilty …because…"

I sigh, and put my head in my hands. "I know I'll probably forget all this…and I don't want to…."

"But…you won't…" He kept trying to interrupt me, sounding a little panicked.

"I tried…damn it, Duo, do you know how close I was to regressing fully? Every time this happens, I forget. I remember what happened last time…and the time before that…J…locked me up…he didn't know what to do…and…"

He fell silent. When I dared to look at him, he was angry again. Kami, why? What have I done now? Why…what…I just don't understand him sometimes!

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"J locked you up. When you remembered your mother dying."

"Yes."

His eyes were challenging me, and everybody else stared at him, because something seemed very wrong with him. "And you're ok with that."

They looked at me, and I turned my head away, staring at the wall. "He did the right thing" I said softly.

"Bullshit."

"Fine" I said quietly, getting to my feet and leaving the room. I paused at the doorway, and looked back at him, and I couldn't stop the tears falling down my cheeks. "It was either that, or have a hallucinating competent killer exposed to adults who couldn't understand, and would pay the price if they got near me. He saved a lot of lives, Duo. This time is different, because I'm older, and I understand it better. Back then…I would have killed somebody if they looked at me the wrong way. There's a difference between good and bad, and he chose the right one, under the circumstances."

He stared at me, and I mourned the loss of the warmth in his eyes. "I don't understand why you defend the people who have made your life a living hell. That's all."

"I defend them" I said slowly, raising a hand slowly to wipe those stupid tears away, feeling completely ridiculous, "Because otherwise, bad things would have happened."

"Like what?"

"I'm a killer, Wonder Boy. You know that. You're one too. Adults…can't understand how we can be the way we are. I can see that, even if you can't. They don't understand that we're…different. Like me. I'm too different, sometimes. The first time it happened I hurt myself so badly I still have the scars." I raised my trembling hand to show him, tiny little crescent moon shaped scars covering the back of it.

"I scrubbed my hand with steel wool until it wouldn't stop bleeding for days. Tell me what you would have done if you had seen me, doing that, with a gun not 5 inches away and fully loaded."

He looked away from me, and I felt something inside my chest…break.

And Quatre screamed.

They all looked at him in shock, as he clutched his chest, leaning over it, trying to stop…something, from spreading further. He started gasping, and I leaned against the doorjamb, feeling completely…destroyed. And not in a good way.

Not in the way he makes me feel with a single smile.

Kami…why did his anger and disappointment hurt so much…?

"Q-Quatre…?"

"So much self hate, God, its hell, hell inside, hell, sadness, guilt, no…."

"Quatre, w-what…?"

"Heero…don't feel like that. He doesn't mean it the way you think he does. He's worried about you."

Duo turned to look at me, and I saw the naked shock in his eyes…and that made it hurt worse.

"Careful, careful, too fragile Duo, he's too fragile, be very, very careful."

He rose, trembling from his seat, and his eyes were the warm oceans I remembered. "D-Dark…?"

"He's still hurting, from before, I didn't realise it because he didn't. God! Heero, it's going to be ok, just…he didn't mean it like that. He didn't mean it the way it sounded. Worried. Stop…stop hating yourself. Stop. Please stop."

I shuddered, and tried not to notice the worry in Trowa and Wufei's eyes as they gazed at me. Duo took a step forward, his arm rising as if to reach for mine, and-

-_pain, wrong, a hand rushing, pain again, no, what did I do-_

-he stopped dead still as Quatre shrieked. "No, _no_, _careful,_ please be _careful_, he's too close to breaking, so close, Duo, careful…"

"Dark, look at me. Please, look at me." I shuddered again, feeling that terrible ache in my chest rise again.

"W-what's happening to me? I'm…too weak…this isn't…r-r-r-right…"

"No, Dark. I know. It's been a very fucked up couple of days. I feel like you do." He keeps looking at me, but I don't think he…understands.

"I…I feel something's wrong, too. No, nothing to do with you. It's just…we've never really trusted people much, lately, not for a few years. It's going to take some time to get used to it. We've never really had to rely on anyone before…and now…Jesus, I know it sounds stupid, but I have to rely on you so much."

What?

"Since last night…all I've been doing is relying on you. My…m-my whole worlds been turned upside down. Is that what you feel like?"

It is…he does feel…

"I t-think its what l-love does to you, 'Ro. I think we weren't fully ready for it…"

"Careful…" Quatre, whispering, as I feel a momentary flash of…terror? What is he saying? We shouldn't…be…togethe-no…_no_...

"But…I don't think anybody is. And then you, remembering…I know you're hurting. And if I seem…heartless, or harsh, its because I'm so worried…"

"W-Wonder Boy…"

"I do love you, Heero. You're my dark. You're my comfort, from the other side of that darkness. You make it all worthwhile. Please…d-don't…d-don't let me l-lose you now…"

"B-but…you h-have to understand…I c-can't hate J…not for t-that, a-anyway…"

"I know Dark, and I'm s-sorry. I d-didn't mean it the way it sounded."

"I can't h-hate him for t-that…I h-hate him for e-everything else, b-but not…"

"I k-know."

"I'm…n-not…myself, right now" I said softly, and I slid down until I was nearly laying on the floor. "I'm… I'm real fucked up at the moment, Duo." At last…that stupid, infuriating, heartbreaking ache is disappearing, and Quatre's sighing as he slumps, my emotions loosening their vice like grip on his empathy.

"I know, love. I k-know."

"I'm s-sorry."

"It's 'kay." He sniffles, and I look up, my heart screwing up in pain again when I see the tears in his eyes. "No, Wonder Boy…n-no…"

"H-hey, you got t-to cry, I g-get to cry. Fair's f-fair."

No…I didn't want….

"It's okay, Duo. You can touch him now. He's…he's not better, but it isn't as bad."

Duo practically flew into my side, and I clutched him as needily as he was clutching me, and I buried my head into his chest and let the tears flow. "Didn't…mean…to…hurt…you…"

"K-know you d-didn't…I'm s-sorry…I didn't…l-look past my o-own hate…that s-stupid J…"

"T-take me h-home, Duo."

"W-what?"

"T-take…me…h-home…to you…take me home…"

"Duo…he…uh…I know this…isn't the best time…but I think it might help."

"What, Q-Quatre?"

"He….uh…he…"

I want him. I want him, so that I can block out this darkness. Fall asleep with him again.

Keep the demons away.

I want him, so that he can stop feeling so sad. So we can love each other, and keep away the dark.

I want that string around my heart again.

"He…wants you."

"Wants me…? Oh. But…Dark…are…do you want…"

"No s-sex, if you d-don't want to. But…h-hold me a-again?"

There was a moment of complete, beautiful silence, always a mystery around him.

"If we had never told them…if we wouldn't be able to sleep together now…because we thought the other didn't want anyone to know, when we wanted everybody to know…what would have happened to you, 'Ro?"

I couldn't answer that. But Quatre did it for me.

"He would have broken. Completely. I don't think it could have ever been fixed. It would have been worse than the first time…because…he has something to lose now…" and oh, I want to cry the tears I hear in his voice.

"B-broken?"

"He wouldn't have been Heero, anymore…he told you. Sympathetic psychopathy. He would have…died inside. But don't think this is because of you. It isn't. Heero…could you let me read you? Properly?"

Read me…?

"Let me…inside…just for a moment."

Read…me? Let someone other than him…inside?

I want to…help him…not feel…sad. Not feel sad…anymore.

Because of me.

"O-okay…"

"I…I know what this means, Heero. It won't be like him. Just…let that barrier down."

"W-which one…?"

"The brick one, Heero, the one near your emotions. Just for a second."

"T-the c-cold one…?

"Yes, that one. It wasn't there before today, because you had forgotten so much…but it's hurting you, and I need to find out why. Ok?"

I don't want him to feel sad anymore…

"O-ok."

I shudder as it falls, and Quatre stiffens again, his aquamarine eyes focusing like lasers and boring into mine, and I feel…oh kami, what is that?

"It's me, Heero, don't worry, it's only me, it's Quatre, a friend, I won't hurt you, it's ok…"

That…thing…warmth, not like Duo's, this one is lighter and more like sunshine, other than his comforting darkness. And it's searching, slowly, through everything in my mind…

"Your mother…terrifies you, you had a dream, a swing, pushing you away even as…she loves you…oh Heero, it's not like that, she didn't leave because of you…Duo…he won't leave because of you…he won't Heero, he loves you, it's like a sun in my mind…don't be scared, don't think you're weak, you're stronger than you can ever imagine…" Duo's arms tighten around me, and I can feel his lips on my temple, gently kissing me.

"Don't think you're weak, you aren't weak…you're in love…that's all it is…because love hurts sometimes…you know that…she loved you, Heero, she didn't leave because she hated you…he won't either…you know that…" Trowa and Wufei grab him as his knees give out, but he's too deep inside me to stop now.

"That pain isn't fear, it's _pain_, you didn't grieve…you know that…you know that you were never given that chance…but you can grieve her now…mourn her loss…because she was _wonderful_, Heero, I can feel her love even through you…that smile, it's full of it…Occy? Your name…a nickname…Occy…she used to call you that because you used to wriggle, like a jellyfish, when you were little…"

I can feel the tears falling down, from my eyes, but I can't close them because to do so would trap him. Inside. With the pain.

"Let me see…let me see that part…oh God…" He looks so surprised…

"Quatre? W-what is it?"

"Duo…you lucky bastard…do you know how much he loves you? A string…oh God, he was so _right_…"

"K-Kat…?"

"A red string…it links you to him…and back…oh Allah, I heard about it but I never thought it was possible…no wonder you're hurting so much, Heero…I would be terrified to feel an ounce of that…you were right…it's not obsession, it's not need, a want…a want so bad…a wish…for another like yourself…and you do it too Duo, oh wow…I'm linking to you through him…"

"I d-don't understand…"

"Soul mates, Duo. You're soul mates! Don't you understand! I'm going through him to you!"

I feel him, my love, my other half, gasp, and his arms go rigid around me.

"He's loved you so much, for so long, it's torn open a hole in his mind! It's the same with you! You're linked…mind to mind…heart to heart…soul to soul! It's amazing! It's…oh God…red string…it was…he nearly…he would have missed, if you hadn't kissed him…he would have died inside anyway…but now…he's so strong…you're so strong, Heero, because you _can_ love…Duo. You have to feel this. Let me show you what's he's like. Let me show you, please, it's so amazing…let me bring you together…"

I feel him nod, above me, and then…

He was there…

It was like when we made love. He was filling me to the brink, with Quatre guiding him, steering him clear of the insanity that all humans hide inside their minds, and settling him directly in front of that string. My anchor. He was my anchor.

I understand now.

He grounded me, he was the weight that kept me from going out of control. And I was the one that lifted him up from a depression so deep it nearly killed him... But since he became a pilot…since he met me…

We're…complete. On the same level. Floating in the cool, dark water.

"See, Duo? Do you see it? He loves you so much…he can never stop loving you…it's so beautiful…do you see?"

We're…us.

Holy shit.

They both cry out as the realisation floods me, the deluge of water rising, and they have to grip me to keep from being swept away. That child, once so broken, smiles as a mother's arms wrap around him again. He isn't alone anymore, yet he's still holding back the dark…and I'm stronger for it. I'm stronger…_because_…I love him. Because I was loved, and had been broken once before. But love is a forge, mending the broken steel, and turning it into gold that speaks of an ocean's eyes.

Love. And my heart warms so much I'm afraid it will stop from that heat.

"There…oh…he's…healing? That's it…oh Heero, you beautiful bastard, that's it…"

"D-Dark…?"

"Heero, can they see? Can I bring the others in? I won't let them hurt you."

They would never hurt me. Because…they're my brothers.

I nod anyway, because…they're family, and sometimes family needs permission.

"Wufei…? Trowa…? Do you want to see…?"

"See? Of course we do, Winner, let us see."

"Hmmm."

And then they're there, white and green along with Quatre's deep pink. But…he's the only one I have eyes for. He's a multitude of blacks and purples and blues…and gold…

And I start to laugh, because he's beautiful.

"Oh…"

Duo sounds so shocked.

"I…I have oceans for eyes?" One heart, one mind …Quatre wasn't kidding about bringing us together.

"My laugh is like a birds call?"

"My smiles…you remember all of them…?"

"You…you love watching cartoons?"

"Oh man…your imagination…those ideas…so many…"

"My skin…is like bronze?"

"My ears…you love my ears! Jesus, Heero…"

"Wow…so that's what my ass really looks like…"

"You…oh…is that…me? Inside...?"

"I'm…really that warm?"

"You really like my hair…?"

"When I smile, I look like a cat?"

"What's the deal with the boots?"

"Why am I wearing a silk robe…?

"Is…that…shit. Is that your _heart_?"

"Is that…yours? Is that…oh…your _soul_…"

"Why…am I your anchor?"

"Why am I your wings?"

"Is that me? Or you?"

"It's…it's us."

"Us?"

"You're mine, Duo. And I'm yours."

"Trust you to think I look like a girl…"

"Hey, you're the one screwing me, doesn't that make me a girl?"

"Well…heh. Maybe you're right."

"And I don't think you look like a girl. Here, see?"

"…you think I'm that beautiful?"

"I _know_ you're that beautiful."

"Your love…Jesus."

"And to think…"

"We could have missed this…"

"My lips are that soft?"

"Wow…you weren't kidding…the sloppy ones are like sex, yeah?"

"My skin…you love my skin, you really do."

"Oh Jesus…what _is_ that? Oh…oh _God_…"

"Heh. Baka. That's _you_."

"So…big…? Me? I'm like that…inside you?"

"Yes…you're so…happy…when you're in me…"

"You feel…so safe?"

"You feel…so protected?"

"Wow. We need to have sex more often."

"You think?"

"Sarcasm…comes really easy to you, doesn't it."

"You're…so content, with me?"

"Oh God yes, Heero, I love you."

"I know. I can see it."

"Lavender…and spices? What's that?"

"Oranges…and tin? And rain?"

"Is that what I smell like? Wow…"

"You get turned on…really easily."

"Heh. So do you."

"You think of me when you eat chocolate…?"

"You're jealous of my shadow?"

"You're jealous of my light?"

"You…wow, you really like the ocean."

"You really like the moon."

"What are those other strings?"

"That's the others. Can you see them?"

"They're…different…"

"Because they're our brothers."

"White…with silver…"

"I protect you from…pain…?

"I protect you…from the night? I said that, but…"

"You do."

"Wonder Boy…wow. _Wow_."

"Dark Love…I'm that to you?"

"You're what to who?"

"I'm…your warmth too?"

"I'm yours? Wow…I'm your warmth too…"

"What…what the hell is that?"

"That's you…when I'm in you."

"Kami…I'm so tight…and warm…and…beautiful…I look like that to you…?"

"You hold me. And…I complete you?"

"No, you fill me."

"But…complete?"

"Yeah. We are…together."

"Wow. You really want me to get boots like that?"

"You really want me to wear that silk robe?"

"Is that…is that me…oh. _Oh_…."

"That hard? You came that hard?"

"You came…twice! That's impossible, isn't it!"

"Jesus…you _really_ came hard, didn't you…"

"I…I overloaded you? I…oh. Your…"

"Sweet spot, you hit it…when you…"

"We really have to have sex more often."

"We had sex for the first time last night, remember?"

"Yeah. But more often is better."

"Hmmm. I agree."

"Is that….is that…oh, _Heero_…"

"That's my Mum, yeah."

"Heero, she's _beautiful_…"

"Who's he? His eyes…they're…"

"That's…Solo. My…well, I thought of him as my big brother."

"So…hungry…? Streets? Oh Duo…the streets…"

"Oh God…that little room…J did that to you?"

"A burning church…kami, no. No, Duo."

"A little girl…you…you killed her?"

"You didn't kill them…in the church…"

"It was an accident…her little puppy…no."

"You…were so sad…"

"You…were so alone…"

"You…I welcomed you…"

"And I…I found you…"

"We're…together."

"Yeah. Me and you, Dark."

"Forever?"

"As long as forever can be."

"What do we do now?"

We turned as one to look at Quatre, who still held us together.

"Well...I'm hungry."

"I know. I can feel it."

"You're not mad at me?"

"For what, Wonder?"

"Here, let me show you."

"…you think you hurt me that badly? Here, let me show _you_."

"…wow…wow…oh God, wow. That's…me…not hurting? It's…"

"Good pain, baka. I've been telling you that for _ages_…"

"Okay…I believe you." But I can hear a doubt in his voice...never mind, I'm sure it's nothing.

"Good. Quatre, you can let us go now. Let him go back. It's not good to be like this for too long."

Quatre released us with a sigh, and we all winced as his straining empathy cracked like a whip, sliding back into his own heart so fast I was sure the friction would set him on fire. He simply smiled weakly, rubbing his eyes as he yawned, and leaned back into Trowa and Wufei, who were still holding him. And gazing at us in awe.

"Yuy…you lucky bastard."

"I am pretty lucky, aren't I?" I agreed, smiling as I pulled myself up off the floor. I turned to him, my Wonder Boy, and the ocean stared back at me, devouring me hungrily as his smile stretched all the way to his eyes.

"You're like the moon, 'Ro. You know that, right?"

"And you're the tides. Yep."

"I'm still not going to be bottom." He grinned as he helped me to my feet, before he stopped, staring again into my eyes. I shuddered as his pupils dilated, his irises smoky with a sultry sea, and I almost moaned as he pulled me flush against his body.

"Dark…" Oh kami, his lips…kissing me again…

He tilted my head back, and I realised with a shock…he's an inch taller than me…but it doesn't matter. Especially with his tongue tracing against my bottom lip…I open my mouth with a sigh, and shiver when that wonderful tongue explores deeper…kami, I love him so much…

And…holy shit.

He wasn't hungry for food.

He's…he's hungry for _me_!

"Duo!" He pulls back, that cheeky smile playing around his lips, and sends a glance over to the guys, who have looked away, for our privacy. "Hey guys, I think me and Heero might hit the hay. Ok? Oh…Trowa…um, better not come in our room for about…three hours. Make that until tomorrow afternoon…"

"Uh…right, Duo…" He whistles, and stares at the ceiling, though he's blushing. As are the others. Kami, even Wufei's got a red tint in his cheeks.

"_Our_ room?"

"You seriously think I'm not moving in with you after _that_! My God, I've fallen in love with an idiot…" He begins dragging me off to _our_ room, and do you want to know something?

I've never been happier about being insulted. Heh.

"Right. Go sit. And don't look."

I rolled my eyes, exasperated, but did as I was told…meekly, too. I caught a hint of gleaming cobalt eyes, a cheeky smile, and then my eyelids slid closed, plunging me into darkness. Like swimming in the ocean, at night, far below the waves.

It had been fun, moving Duo's stuff in, from his room to…ours. And kind of strange, but I love the way he's looking at me right now, so that kinda pales into insignificance.

Both of our bags were in the corner, still neat, but I just _know _that his stuff will be _everywhere_, in a couple of days. We had chucked the single beds frame out of the window, ready to be stored after we…well, whenever we woke up, and had placed the mattress on the floor.

Next to the one he brought from his room.

_We_ have a double bed. Heh. And _I've_ got a bad case of the warm and fuzzies.

The sheet from the dorm made a reappearance, as well. And I don't know _how_ he did it, but there were fresh flowers, everywhere. All dark purple and yellow Isis lilies, from out of nowhere, stacked in wobbly glass vases all over the place. And…they smell really beautiful. Alright, I'm practically giving up my masculinity thinking that, but…I don't care. They are pretty, after all.

I sighed as the mattress dipped next to me, from somebody sitting…and it's pretty obvious who it is…and I have this insane urge to jump the weight making the dent next to me.

Ok, well not insane, as soft lips kiss my cheek gently. Just…obviously appropriate, for the whole situation.

"Ok, Dark. Open your eyes."

I do, and smile.

Candles. I love candles.

Not many, because after all, we are terrorists, and _boy_ terrorists at that, but they look…really beautiful. And his eyes…in that dim candlelight…kami, I thank the heavens for moments like these. When he's looking at me, with a sheepish smile, and a hand curls around mind and brings it to his lips.

Hoo boy…not a need, but a want.

And I think it's pretty obvious that I want him so badly it's making me shiver.

"Wow, Wonder Boy…where did you get these…?"

"Found 'em, in a cupboard. And I got the flowers from the dam." He blushes, and I want to kiss his heated cheeks so _badly..._ "Not too cheesy, right?"

"Perfect" I say softly, and those oceans masquerading as eyes glimmer with the tiniest smile, the most beautiful that I have ever seen. Small pride. I love the look of pride in his eyes. It makes them…stormy, almost, a calm tempest in the middle of open water.

"Cool."

Hmmm…it is.

"You're…not sore? We can do this?" I tilt my head, looking at him with a question and he waves his free arm around uncertainly. "Yanno…sore. Down there." Oh. I shake my head, and smile at him again, and I glorify in the way his smile becomes crooked, swaying upwards on one side and making him _beautiful._

"I think I heal faster than most people" I say softly, and we both hang our heads, remembering that we aren't most people. And we could never be normal, not like they are. But…

…we don't have to belong to the 'norm'. Who wants to do that anyway?

"Heh, my thoughts exactly." Oh, I said that out loud?

He grins at me, and tucks a fly away strand of hair behind his ear. "If we can't be normal, let's at least be fucking spectacular." I smile again, and he reaches forward hesitantly, to smooth my hair off of my forehead, and …that simple gesture…it's a simple joy. Simplicity. Beautiful, torrential…love.

"Hey…Duo…?"

"Yeah, Dark?"

"What are we sitting here waiting for?"

He sends me a startled look as I grin brazenly, before I flop down onto the bed beneath us, head approximately…somewhere…near the pillows. "Hmmm…you know, I want to be on top this time."

He grows pale again, and I have to wonder…what has him so hung up, so tightly wound, that he can't even bear the thought of being taken like that? I wave a hand, brushing away his sudden tension, and say softly, "I meant…on top. Me on top of you. Uh…riding you?" His eyes go…wow, kami, really wide…and blink at me in astonishment.

"Gaby wakka noop….?"

Wow…I don't know what that was, but he sure does look surprised…"Uh…what?"

He clears his throat, a blush staining his cheeks, and asks slowly, "I said, are you sure you want to do that?"

"Yeah, otherwise I wouldn't have said it. I…I'm just curious, that's all."

He swallows. Hard. And I feel something begin unfolding deep inside of me, deep in my belly. Lust…? Love…?

Who cares. It's making me hard, and I like it.

"C-c-curious?"

"Yeah, curious…Will you go deeper? Can I make it so that you hit my sweet spot with every… hard… hot… thrust? Can I ride you until you explode?"

He chokes, and I grin at him, sure I'm doing something called 'dirty talk'. He told me about it once, after I kept saying 'fuck'…that was during the whole blowjob thing…hmm, that would be nice too.

"Yeah…can I push myself up, so that every time you thrust up, I push down? Wow, that would be hell on me…and hell on your…lovely…beautiful…cock. Ne, would be, wouldn't it?"

"God, Dark!"

"Hmmm…" He's still so _still_, as if he's in shock. And yet…he blushes as I stare at his lap, where a decided…lump, is starting to form, quite nicely I might add. Heh. I can't help the smirk crawling across my face, and I decide…I like to be the one teasing him, for a change.

I sigh, and let my hand rise from where it's lying next to me, to rest it lightly on my chest, and his eyes glow, ferocious in the candlelight. "It would be…punishing rhythms. Yes." I let it drift across, trailing the fingertips lightly on my skin, causing it to break out in goose bumps in their thoughtful wake. "So hard…and brutal…kami, that would be spectacular…" I circle a hardening nipple, and he gasps, jerking forwards before stilling.

"Do you know what your cock does to me? Inside?" I still sound contemplative, ignoring my soft, sporadic panting as I continue to rub lightly, staring into his eyes the whole time. "It's like a sword, splitting me apart, even as I clutch at it. Because…it hurts so bad it's good. Pleasure so strange you could almost call it pain…but it never is." I smile, and drift across to my other nipple, and I watch as his eyes grow steadily darker, and he clutches at his braid, as if in need of anchorage. Beautiful Wonder Boy.

"And you…flexing, above me, pulling and pushing at me…and I give before you…funny, isn't it?" He nods, still not quite sure what's going on, and I sigh as I let my hand slide lower. "Pounding me, into me…kami, it's sweet. Filling me, stretching me, making me so _hard_…are you hard, Duo?"

He gulps, and looks at his lap fleetingly, before his eyes spring back to mine. "I see…you are getting hard. So beautiful…I could look at yourcock for hours." He trembles again, and I have to smile. "You like it when I say cock, don't you?"

"Y-yeah…I love it…" A dark whisper, that wraps itself into knots in my belly, and I sigh again as I shiver.

"Uhhh….yeah, I love the word too. Cock. So…fulfilling." He shudders, and I grin as my hand starts moving again, sliding down my quivering abdomen, to lazily circle my belly button. "Your cock, Duo…so lovely. So hot, and pulsing, and deep…so deep inside me…I thought I would die from that heat. So…oh, kami, so…._hot..._"

"J-Jesus…Heero, what…"

"Will it be deeper, above you? I can see it now…my hands, on your chest. You gripping my waist….ohhh…" I moan softly as my fingertips tremble, just above the waistline of my board shorts, and he follows their circling movements with hungry eyes. "Pulling me down…harder…onto you, you're…impaling me…kami, that would be the sweetest thing…"

He can't stop shaking, his eyes the colour of a waterspout on the seas, and his pale luminescent skin glistens with a sheen of sweat. Kami, I love him.

"I would rise…and fall onto you…onto your cock…" I gasp as my hand slips below the barrier of the cloth, sliding down my soft lower belly until I touch the base of my own hardness. He jerks again, and the denim of his shorts strains dangerously, as he grows harder, and harder. So beautiful. "I would be gripping you…riding you…squeezing deliberately, just so I can make you groan…"

I moan, and make a loose fist with my hand, travelling slowly up that stiffness until I reach the tip, and I shudder again.

"And I would touch myself, just like this…because I know, when I do, all the muscles inside me…they flutter…they would flutter around your cock…" His tongue darts out, to lick his lips, and it leaves them gleaming pink, in the wavering light. "But…maybe…"

"B-but w-what?" So breathless, and his hands keep twitching, as if they want to fly to his own…I arch as my hand travels back down again, smoothing slickness down my length, and I quake as I slide back up, easier this time.

"But maybe…maybe I want you…to take me from behind…on my hands and knees…" He cries out softly as he watches me, eyes growing hazy, and yet picking up every single detail…

"Like an animal…like tigers…like stallions…oh yeah, the ultimate ride…would you like that, Duo?" His eyes rise guiltily, from watching me touch myself, and as we lock gazes I lick my own lips. "Do you want that? Do you want to…fuck me? Fuck me, Duo, is that what you want to do…?"

He nods slowly, and I moan as my hand picks up a little speed, still so slow, but now…pleasant friction…oh, yeah…

"Fuck me h-hard, is that what you want? Fuck me so hard….and I'll be so tight around you, I promise I will be…so tight around your cock."

"So t-tight…I want to f-fuck you…I do…"

"I want to be fucked…I want to be ridden, so deep…" My hand stills, but my hips move, so I'm languidly thrusting into my waiting fist…like he does into me…and kami, he looks so beautiful when his hair's full of his sweat…hanging loose, into his eyes…

"Can you f-fuck me like I need to be fucked, love? Can you really bear to fuck me? I want you to…but I don't know if you can…"

"I c-can fuck you, D-Dark…I can…I can fuck you…"

"Then go get the lube, Wonder Boy."

He starts, surprised, before he tries to get to his feet. His knees tremble wildly, and he falls back slightly, and it's because of me, and I gasp as I thrust higher, hand gripping more tightly. He finally manages it, shuddering as sweat falls from his body, and he stumbles over to our bags.

"Top pocket."

He growls as the zip refuses to budge, his fingers so slick with sweat he can't hold onto the metal, and I shudder as I finally hear the sound of the teeth being ripped open. That dark, purring beast called sex is back, and it's pacing the room, stalking Duo with hungry deep scarlet eyes, shadowed paws silent against the floor. I can see him flinch as it caresses his legs, his back, and then he turns back, and our eyes meet. And I'm destroyed again by the lust roaring, like a hurricane, in those oceans of his.

"Take your top off." He complies so fast it looks like he was doing it, before I asked it. So funny. So…oh kami, this is better…the anticipation is better…

"And the shorts. Take them off. I want to see you." He whines, deep in his throat, and his braid swings forward to sway by his side, as trembling hands jerk them down and away from his waist. There he is, so hard, and proud…I never really got a good look, last night…I had gone down on him, once, but then it was dark…now we have the light.

"Oh God…yes…" My mouth parts, and I scoop up air, shuddering into my own touch. "Come here Duo…please…_please_…."

He staggers back towards the bed, falling onto his knees, the mattress cushioning the abrupt fall, and I stop for a minute so that I can wriggle out of these damned board shorts. They go flying, and I'm touching myself even before they hit the ground.

"Jesus, Dark…you're so hot…so beautiful…c-can…c-can I touch y-you?"

I manage to send him an exasperated glance, even while…hell, even while I'm masturbating in front of him. "Yeah…do it…please…"

He gasps as his hand meets mine, both caressing my cock, and I cry out as I force us to move together, sliding up my hardness, and then down, and he trembles as we reach the base, and I force him to go further.

"Do it, Wonder…prep me…do it, do it quick…I can't last much longer…"

He whines again, and I sigh as I feel that sound jolting, to go directly to my groin. Kami, he's hot. Hotter than last night. My beautiful, wonderful Duo…

The lube. Where did it go? Oh, he has it…meh, his fingers are so clumsy with lust he can't get the lid off. I chuckle breathlessly as I take it from him, slipping the screw top off easily, and I hand it back to him, trembling under his heated gaze. "Thanks, babe."

Babe? _Babe_?

Oh well. At least my cock likes him calling me that…

He smears a liberal amount onto the tips of his fingers, putting down the tube, and placing a hot hand, on the inside of my right thigh, shivering as he pushes it aside, and raises it, so that he can…

Lubricant, cold, trailing down to my entrance…

I cant my hips up, wanting him inside again…

Two fingers at once…_oh_….so _good_….so much pressure…twisting inside me. His upper lip curls as he leans further over, roughly thrusting into my tightness, and I feel myself give nearly immediately, so mentally prepared for this that there's nearly no resistance.

I grimace. "Don't worry, I'll be tighter…"

He looks at me, eyes shocked, and says, panting, "What? You're so… fucking tight… I'm having a hard time …moving!"

I blink.

And then arch wildly into him as he…there's no other word for it…he _rips_ against my prostate, and he chokes as I clamp down on him so hard I swear I can feel his bones grate inside me.

"Easy, Dark…easy…"

"Damn it Duo, you do this and tell me if it's easy!" I snarl, and then push _down_; pushing against him, forcing him in harder and tighter, and he nearly screeches.

I pant as he stops, trying to regain his balance…mentally, of course, since he's half leaning against me…and then…

Scissoring…kami, I love the scissoring…he's rough, and fast, because he wants this too badly to be thorough…three now…forcing me open, so that he can…oh kami, so that he can…

"Ohhh…you are going to fuck me, aren't you…"

"Yeah…yeah, I am…"

"Then do something for me."

"What, Dark…? W-what is it?"

"Do it right. Fuck me, and don't worry about hurting me. I'm tougher than you think."

He groans, and then…oh…four fingers? We've never done four…so much wider…and my muscles give in so quickly, relaxing under the dark feelings of massage, forcing them to calm around him. Four probing, and pushing…I feel my chest tighten as they move higher, the sudden irrational thought flooding me…they won't stop….they'll never stop…he'll just push until he's all the way inside me, buried forever, never able to let go. I spread my legs wider, lifting up my hips to give him more leverage, and glare into his eyes as he starts to slow down.

He glares back. "On your hands and knees, Dark." Though there's that glint of command in his tone, his eyes…I'm safe with him. He won't push me past anything I'm not ready for. His eyes are telling me that he loves me.

I snarl, anyway, to remind him I'm still here, still the Soldier. I shudder as I comply, feeling horribly empty as those fingers leave me, and I lean on my side, hands scrabbling until I force them to stiffen, under me. Shivering, I roll so that I'm on my knees, shoulders arching as I surge upwards until I'm like an animal, on all fours, panting and waiting for him to…to _fuck_ me.

Oh kami…oh, oh, _oh_…

The squirt of the tube again…the cold crackle of lubricant being spread…and then hands, sticky with past lube and new lube, lube from a tube, hey, fasten onto my hips.

"Ready, Dark? You a-asked me. I'll stop, if it's n-not what you want." I know he would, too.

But…there's also a part of him…it wants to dominate me. So badly. I stirred him up, provoked those feelings racing through his system, falling from the hot breath against my back, panting as he tried to restrain himself.

Fuck humanity. Fuck tenderness…for just this night.

Just this one night, or until we're brave enough to do it again.

I growled. "Fuck me. Do it. Do it now, before I finish myself off."

He whined breathlessly again, spread my legs apart roughly, and _slammed_ into me.

One thrust, all the way in, until his hips hit my ass. My breath emptied so fast from my lungs I felt like I was suffocating, my hands tightening on the sheets, and…oh kami…

So…big…hard….wasn't fully prepared…the shock….kami…..

He gave me a moment, not that I needed one…more like twenty would have been nice, but…I realised something…

I want to be dominated. I do. I truly do, on this night, but probably never again.

He was still waiting, I don't know what for, breath hot against my neck as he panted, rib cage resting along my spine. "What the…w-what the h-hell are you _d-doing_!"

"W-w-what…?"

"Fuck me, D-Duo. Do it. I'm not s-some fucking pussy that can't t-tak-"

Back slowly, and then forwards… damn, so fast…pain, deep and biting, but…oh…oh so _good_…

I growl as his weight forces me to fall lower…my arms trembling, fingers gripping wildly…roughness, as he drives deeply in, and I cry out as he hits my sweet spot full on….kami, this is…this is…

Not as good as last night…but still very, _very_ good.

Too good.

A hand slithers, from its place on my hip, to slide under my chest, gripping tightly as I gained some leverage…and he starts panting…I shove back against him, his next thrust especially cruel…deep…pain and pleasure, so strangely mixed I can't tell them apart anymore…

Too good. Kami, _way_ too good. I can't last….can't possibly…drives, thrusts, deep, so deep, and rough….

My whole body shudders from that force. I can feel everything, my skin oddly sensitive, and his warm breaths tickle my shoulder, where his forehead rests. His hips are like pistons, slamming into me, and I slide forward a few inches before I can balance myself properly. Damn it, this is….beyond…everything…

I jerk backwards, and cry out softly, as teeth sink into my shoulder…oh kami, is he marking me! Oh….pain…but…so good…

My eyes close tightly, because I can't bear to look at the rumpled sheets below us, twists in the fabric from this frenzied…_fucking_…can't bear to see the sweat dripping from my forehead...can't bear to feel the warm air curling around our pulsing bodies...because all I want to feel is him...

Hands scrabble to find my hips again, and then-

What? He's leaving? But...but...but he hasn't finished yet!

Those hands, gripping tightly, lift me up...until I'm on my knees...and then make them twist, so that I'm facing him, his eyes a point of deepening dark in the flickering candlelight. He swallows hard, still panting and shuddering, and my lips tremble as my gaze flickers downwards. He hadn't finished, I hadn't felt it, and the proof...jutting proudly from between his legs, capturing my gaze...kami. Oh, dear sweet kami. I don't understand.

"Y-you...you need to..."

"W-what is it Dark?"

"I need you to...I w-want you to...I don't..."

"I ...I want you to do something..."

"You...you don't want to...am I the rea-"

"No! No, Dark. I want you...I want you to do...what you said first. I want you...to..."

This time I'm the one who's swallowing hard, as he lays down on his back, growling as his braid catches beneath his weight, before a lurch to the right frees it. His eyes...nearly black. Kami, is that...that's...the darker side of love. Lust...uncontrollable lust...and it's caressing _me_.

Holy shit.

"Do it, Dark...please...please?"

Hands, guiding my body forward, until I'm poised...bluntness, lubricant warmer from being inside me but still deliciously cool against my inner thigh...hands guiding me down. He wants me; I can see it scrawled in every movement, every twist of muscle, every shaking breath.

I love him, for letting me overwhelm him like this.

He twists, and moans, as I gently grasp his erection, pulsing hot and furious and slick in my tender grip, and his eyes catch mine. Black...because his pupils are fully dilated...oh kami, I have that effect on him...? On my Wonder Boy...? I make him...

I gulp, and let the head of his beautiful cock slowly slip inside me. Just a little, almost teasing, and I shudder as his body writhes, trying to stop himself thrusting higher into me...kami, he can barely control himself...

I said that I wanted to be dominated. Instead...

"Please, Dark_. Please..."_

I seem to be the one...running rampant in his blood, stirring him up past his endurance, making him wild...

Kami. The power of a what I am in this relationship, what I do to him, is finally being revealed to me...

His eyes flutter closed as I exhale sharply, pushing myself down onto that searing pressure. I choke, the angle of penetration deeper, than it has ever been before, for me. My added weight on top making me sink, right down the torrid length supporting me, and invading me, all at the same time. I can't help the whine that escapes my trembling lips as I take him all in, deeper...kami, his hands are on my hips again, supporting me slightly as I push myself up...

No...need more...something different...

I lean backwards, hands resting on his shin bones, and his eyes fly open as, inside, he moves down with me...kami, he's so beautiful...skin soaked with sweat, eyes large and furious with that beast called sex...trembling, shuddering, braid slightly coming undone...soft ringlets framing his face, curling from the heat...

This...has changed.

Even I can see that.

It's...so very ...different.

"Duo..."

His eyes snap to mine, and his hands slip down my body, to rest on my outer thighs, near my knees, keeping me steady.

"Duo...can you see...?"

He murmurs as I move forwards again...I can't help panting as his cock fills me again, a curious sound emerging from our joining as my muscles clench..._oh_...he's touching _that _spot again...small fires flare in me belly, and carry shockwaves of pleasure throughout my body...

This is...far more intense. Even more so than...than that frenzied coupling, earlier.

We both have the upper hand in this.

Wonder Boy...see what you do to me...see what you're doing to me now...because I love you, and I never want to leave you...you'll always be there...

"Watch me, Duo..."

"I-I am w-watching..."

"N-No..." I sigh, pulling backwards, and then shoving forwards, my head falling back without my permission, as a lusty whimper emerges from my throat...

"Watch where you are...watch w-what your c-cocks doing to me...tell m-me what you see...I c-can't see..."

And I can't...I never take my eyes from his face, as his eyes travel down my body...pausing on my raised hips, where a very obvious part of me is practically screaming to be noticed...and I can still sense that guilt, as if he's watching something forbidden, taboo.

But he can't tear his eyes away from me. Kami...strings or no, I don't think I could ever stop loving him.

I move slowly forwards again, and I cry out as he jerks inside me, gaze riveted to a sight I can't see, and I nearly scream as shocked cobalt eyes snap to mine, the most furious storm I've seen so far unfurling, undulating. A ship killer...

Kami, protect me from this tempest. This storm...yes...as I move forwards again, and...oh...lightning flickers in their endless depths. I can't take much more of this...

"W-what do y-you see, Wonder B-Boy?"

He licks his lips; from our furious pace before, this seems unbearably slow, almost as if time has stopped. I risk moving a hand away from his leg, to run it through my bangs, slicking them back from my forehead...they've been hanging, irritably, in my eyes, for ages...

"You're...my..."

"Say it, Duo." A sharp gasp echoes from me, and I glare at him as best as I could. Never mind being a lovesick teenager, I have to _know_.

"My...my c-cock...it's..."

I blink, as a shudder courses through me. Obviously, I love it when he says cock too...

"Oh god, Dark...my cock...it's going inside you...I can see it..."

"Like t-this?" I push myself down...he forces me open, deeper...harsher...oh, this darkness, flickering at the edge of my vision...so unforgiving...kami, what have I gotten myself into...?

"Jesus...y-you're...you're t-taking m-me..."

"Am I-I?"

"I'm...oh G-_God_...I'm i-_inside_ you..."

"Yes...a-and...?'

"What i-is it y-you want me to s-_see_, Dark!" I moan harshly, pushing myself back down, and his cock...scraping me inside...filling me again...oh fuck, not so soon, I can't come yet...

"What a-are you m-making me f-feel?"

Oh. Oh, god damn my subconscious, and send it to the deepest pits of hell. I didn't even _realise._..

His eyes, still so furious...lightning flickering faster now...furious tempest...roaring through me...destroying me, again, and again, and again...

"W-what are y-you making me _f-feel?"_

He stares down again...I can only imagine the...oh...the sight he's seeing...what could he be seeing...kami...he's seeing me...enveloping...him...

"Oh _God_!" My head snaps back again, and his eyes widen, impossibly wide, and his body stills. What...deeper...kami...

Pure...pleasure...unadulterated, fabulous, terrifying, so dark, so inviting, caressing me...deeper...into my heart...places that have never known the touch of sex...obliterated...this is beyond pleasure...beyond anything I've ever experienced before...

"H-Heero...?"

"No...t-too much..."

He goes pale, and I realise...somehow, through this haze, that I've said the wrong thing. Yet again. Kami, I have to tell him the truth, before he stops, and...this stops...

"Gods, Duo...more...please, more...do that again..."

He looks bewildered, and from the parts of me that can still think, and can still reason, it looks absolutely adorable on his sweat soaked face. Running down his temples. Dripping onto his chest as he leans up, before collapsing again, my feet pressing neatly into his ribs, keeping my balance and keeping him down.

"W-watch me..."

He can't help it; his gaze flicks down again, seeing that sight as I move forward, and his whole body snaps like a whip.

Again...! Again! Oh yes, there it is...I think he sees...yes! Oh, kami, yes!

"I...o-oh God..."

"D-didn't believe m-me...pleasure, b-baka...oh G-God, so m-much..."

Never...he was always scared...always scared of hurting me...

That fear transferred to me...I never knew...

This was more.

More me.

More him.

I looked into his eyes, a swirling tempest of emotions, and I swear I could see my own there. My own...oh yes...glowing like the moon...

That lightning...before...

It was me.

"You're...y-you-re..."

"Always g-good...a-always you...and m-me...don't you see!" I push down again, my thigh muscles shaking from the strain, and...

I see it. In his eyes. He sees it in mine.

That odd sound coming again...I'm pushing against him, more brutal, more intimidating, and he _knows_...

His cock, so big and hot, and I'm pushing it against my prostate...neither of us touching any other part of me...one giant balancing act, between the arc of pleasure and oblivion.

"It n-never hurts...n-never..."

"B-but..."

"I k-know you've seen s-something..." His eyes, already so round, flare, and I wince at the pain falling from him, enveloping me.

"Y-you s-saw something wrong, d-didn't you." And I know he can't deny it. The truth...like the blaze of feeling and pleasure between me...inside me...it's unmistakable.

"You s-saw...wrong sex. _Forced_ s-sex."

His eyes filled with tears, even as he rose to meet my next thrust, driving it deep, driving it home. I shudder, my eyes closing, before my hand snaked forwards, grasping his as it reached...grasping...a lifeline...

My eyes open, and the lightning dances between us...tangible pleasure...what we're saying, it's slowing him down, adding more minutes...I can see...it's dragging him away from the edge...I push myself away too, focusing all of my will, on that special part deep inside, and the pleasure reluctantly recedes.

"Y-you've never f-forced me, l-love..."

"B-but...I..."

"Never."

"I..."

"A-always wanted i-it. A-always."

"H-Heero..." He can't help the sob skipping up his chest, strangling him. Tearing him apart inside.

"L-look. I w-want this."

His gaze drops again, to where our bodies are entwined together, and I flex my hips...plunging him deep inside me again, for his tempo had slowed...eventually stopping...and I had to...help heal him. As he healed me.

I must have seen it, in his mind, when we were combined.

"A...a p-prostitute...on L2..."

"W-what happened to h-her...?"

He never removed his gaze, and I could almost feel it...what it must look like...what it must feel like...

Warm, slick inner heat...gripping muscle walls...being enveloped, again, and again, by a relentless force...

"The-...they h-hurt her...bad..."

I shudder, at the pure misery in his tone. Knowing...from personal experience...what he meant by hurt. Hurt so bad that small hands couldn't conceal it...

"D-did she d-die...?"

He looked up at me, and the horror and darkness in his tempest eyes made me slow, slow rocking movements, comforting. Grounding. Lifting.

"I...I w-wish she had."

My head bows...she lived. But at a price.

At this point I stop completely, panting breaths escaping my lips. I know, from those blasted American teen movies, that this sort of thing was considered stupid, and overly complicated. But...

We're broken teens. Broken in so many ways it took a soul string to make the pieces fit again.

I had to make him see.

"Never hurting me."

He looked away, shuddering, and I leaned forward, my legs flexing as they brought me up a little, before I settled on the hardness I was enveloping, with my body, and my mind, and my heart. My hands drifted, sliding up his chest, before they encircled his neck, and he jerked as I leaned forwards, so that I was practically hugging him.

"You've _never_ h-hurt me. You n-never will."

"But..."

"Please, D-Duo. You're hurting me by thinking that y-you ever could."

"H-Heero..."

"B-besides, I c-can stop y-you, if y-you ever push me t-too far. You know it. I k-know it."

He sighed, and...oh, how that mournful sound tore at the edges of my heart. My poor Wonder Boy...he must have seen so much, far too soon...far too _young_...

"T-that's the point, 'Ro...I d-don't want you ever t-thinking you have to s-stop me."

"I n-never will."

I glare at him, before it softens, and he reluctantly drags his eyes to meet mine again. That storm...

Where...where were the oceans I loved so much...? I could feel my eyes widening, and he choked as I moved again. Hands pressed firmly against his chest, I rose, letting him slip from me...almost out...and then down again. A flash! There!

I moved again, rolling my hips...another flicker, clouds covering an ocean...flashes of waves, deep beneath the force of the tangible tempest...

"Nobody forces _me_ to do _anything_."

He shudders, leaning into my touch, his hips jerking upwards before he can stop them. I move again, leaning back, slowly, so slowly...kami...my hands scrabble to find his shins again, knees lifting as I bring my feet forward again...

"Look at w-what you give me" I said softly, and he blinked tears away from his eyes again...but those storm clouds...they were clearing...

"You r-remember...you fill m-me."

He gasped, as I made him look down again, at our voluntary embrace, at the place where our bodies joined, and then his eyes flashed up again. Fog, tumbling across a turbulent crest of waves...hundreds, stacked one behind the other, waiting and ready and willing...and still uncertain. Kami, I love him...he knows how much it spreads, how it covers everything. Now...if he only knew how deeply...

"You m-make me complete."

He whines, deep in his throat, and as I press forward again...I can't help the moan that escapes me, can't help biting down onto the soft flesh of my bottom lip, as that...that impossible pleasure threatens to consume me again.

"You m-make me b-better..."

I reach forward again, and this time he grasps my hand firmly. A survivor.

I rock, tilting my hips forward, and he watches as he fills me...completes me...

"It's a-all about u-us."

I stare into his eyes, as that wave of ecstasy threatens to crash over me, flooding me, and I swear I see a single bolt of electricity slide deep within a chaotic ocean's depths.

A clear ocean.

"There...there i-it is...oh, W-Wonder Boy...I've b-been waiting for that..."

He blinks up at me, and I can feel him coiling beneath me, his own orgasm thundering along the well known tracks by now. His eyes widen as I smile, lifting myself up one final time, and I know he can see the sudden tension in my arms, my legs, my wildly trembling abdomen...kami, if I make one sacrifice for a person other than myself in my life, let this be it...let this be the night...

"Look." The gentlest, shaky whisper, as I'm only seconds away from the best orgasm I will probably ever have.

His gaze drops...and then I slam down, clenching and pulling at the same time, hissing in sympathetic pleasure as he grates against my sweet spot, and as I pull him further into myself. Piercing me, indenting me, marking me in a way I will never…ever…let anybody else do. Always him. Forever him. Deep inside, where the red string grows, and the sleeping gold goes.

He jolts...kami...his eyes widen even further...he jerks up into me, and then he screams...pumping inside me, placid heat that frustrates the explosion twining between our bodies...the air, swirling around me, and I close my eyes and cry out as I start too...

I open my eyes, and I fall into the sea.

He's still coming...it's only been a mere second since that furious jerk...and then...kami...

No...too much...

Pleasure, utter unadulterated feeling, pain and joy and satisfaction and anxiety and anticipation and sadness and love and everything I've ever felt...all entwined, releasing me even as it captures me, flooding me, and I convulse around him...he whines, a sigh hissing past his lips, and then he screams again...jolting me higher, pushing past all of my barriers, every wall, every cage, all a key as it unlocks more...

His hand jerks me forward, until I have to put the other on his wiry muscled chest to balance myself, and I shudder as his beating heart, so wild and fretful, thunders under my palm. I shudder, sweat trickling down my ribs, as the last wave passes me over, ebbing slowly. Ripples shudder outwards, releasing from my pumping body, and I feel him twitch inside me as he winds down too, that filling warm heat slowing to a trickle.

"D-Dark..."

I collapse on top of him, breath coming in short, sharp pants, shuddering as a hand left mine to curl around me.

"Dark...w-what just happened...?"

My forehead rests against his collarbone, my breaths tickling the sweat soaked skin below, making it shiver, raising it into goose bumps. I can't speak. Kami...that...that wasn't pleasure...that was beyond such a meagre thing...

"Duo...you had c-clouds..."

Another hand creeps up my face, to smooth the sweaty hair off of my forehead as I raise it a little, and I tremble. My skin feels overly sensitive, still jolting from little shoots of pleasure spreading throughout my nerves.

"In y-your eyes...there were never meant to be any..."

"I...I was still scared, wasn't I..."

"I know."

His eyes regarded me, regal, never intimidating...blue surrounding a black so deep I felt my heart begin to race even faster. "Thank you."

His lips sought mine, and connected; a shy, gentle kiss, so different from the ferocity and pain of the act we had just committed. I love moments like these, when all I can see is him, all of him, and all of me. A tongue eases my bottom lip, still a little tender from where I bit down, and I part them with a sigh, feeling my heart warm as we're connected again, both above and below.

Strong hands hold me close, soothing the trembles racing through my skin, and I sigh into this incredible kiss as they lift me gently up, away from him, and I shudder as I feel him slip from me. My legs curl beneath me instinctively as he lays me on my side, before he swiftly gets up, to blow out the candles, plunging the room into darkness. He slides back into bed behind me, his knees pressing into the back of mine, his belly into my back, and I shiver as he draws the sheet over us...again...every time I give myself to him completely, and every time he gives me himself and more. Roughness, against my belly…my thighs...he's cleaning me up, so very gently, the fabric of the towel wonderful against my over sensitised flesh…there's a thump as it lands, next to the mattress, and I sigh, wriggling backwards into his body.

A palm cups my waist, beneath me, another sliding under my ribs to grip my shoulder, a warm kiss eased gently into the hollow of my collarbone. My arms raise by themselves to grip his own, hands against his, and I smile as he shifts, so that his braid falls over both our bodies.

I don't really know why he has it.

I just know that he treasures it nearly more than anything in this world.

And to trust me with it...

"Dark...are you ok? No, no" he rushes to explain, feeling me tense up, body so close to mine, and I can almost feel his apologetic gaze. "It was stupid of me, to think you can't handle yourself. I just...we were so...rough. I'm pretty sure I hurt you."

It's not that bad, really. Just...throbbing, a heat which doesn't burn but is irritating all the same. Too stretched, perhaps, maybe a little too forced, a tingle of pain...and satisfaction. But otherwise...

"I'm fine...gimme a couple of days, and I'll be great..."

"You sure?" Such hesitation, and...worry, in that sweet, dark tone. Kami...

"Yeah, Wonder. I'm ok."

He kisses me again, gently, at the place where my pulse thunders beneath the delicate skin of my neck.

"I'm...just fine..." My eyes slip closed, and I can't stop them, instead allowing this subtle surrender. How come all the things in my life seem like death? Sex, fighting, laughing, pleasure, pain, sleep...why does such a frightening end of all things make me happier when I'm with him?

"I love you, 'Ro. Thank you...thank you for saving me...again." I can barely understand him...and I don't want to...warm...happy...safe...all the things I've ever wanted...and so...content...

"Hmm...love you too..."

The heat of the night is fading, and yet I'm warm, cradled in his arms and in his embrace, his gaze resting on me before I can almost hear his eyes close. A soft, satisfied sigh stirring the hair behind my ear, his nose burrowing into the nape of my neck. A smile against my skin.

And a red string, winding about my heart even more tightly.

U

I blink my eyes open, feeling immeasurably safe, strong hands and arms still curled around my body, a warm breath soft against my neck.

Light, still, dim and full of blue, dawn light, shudders through the window.

I smile.

Because I remember.

**OWARI**

**A.N:** Heh. I'm beginning to enjoy writing this way too much.

The second instalment...in a series. You heard me right.

The Strings project is officially opened, the machinery well manufactured, and oiled, and running smoothly, and dozens of plot bunnies escaping their hell born hideaway to run rampant in my mind.

I think I might write a new one now.

But first, here are some explanations.

1: When I refer to sympathetic psychopathy, I have no idea what I'm actually talking about. I don't even know if this condition _exists_. Its just seemed...appropriate, somehow, for Heero to have suffered it early in his childhood. I _think_ I made it up. I'm not sure. O.O;;; (Scurries off to check her mental illness dictionary...not that she has one.)

2: I think, no, damn it, I _know_ that Heero's childhood wasn't like that. It's just been so long since I last watched GW...I'm practically writing on the fumes left behind from other fanfictions...and I apologise if it doesn't seem right to you. If anyone has the actual events listed I'll look them over, but I want to keep it as is. I don't want to upset the flow.

3: Wufei, I have decided, likes tuna. So there. n.n;;;

4: Sappiness is the sweetness in life, peoples. Enjoy it while it lasts.

5: Sex is sex. I know, a bit too explicit, even for me, but...it needed to be. Duo and Heero's relationship isn't all about love, and sweetness, holding close in the dark. It mainly is, yes, but...I wanted to add a little angst. Heero comforting Duo with sex, and actually helping him overcome his fear of sex being used as a weapon, even though he knew it wasn't entirely true, and _never_ with himself and Dark... well, it _seemed_ like such a _good_ idea at the time...

Get this god forsaken, hell damned monkey off of my back, and review. Please.

I want to know if...gifts should be involved.

U.U;;;

For their six month anniversary.

(Rolls her eyes)

Meh. I'm choking, I swear to god, on the fluffy yummy doom...

Arigatou, for reading, yet again.

Love, Shy.


	3. The Six Gifts

**Author:** The Mercurian Vixen (A.K.A Shy Himura, Shini-Kun, Melissa Penwrym, The Illuminated Tome, The Illustrious Bubblegum Vixen, The Darkness Inside, and "Oy! You! Get back here with those sausages!" )

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam Wing. That honour is left to Bandai, and Sunrise, and everybody else who has a take in it. I just love them.

**Warnings:** Yaoi! Lemons, fluffyness, sap, sweetness, Relena makes an appearance...(Shudders)...Heero makes some things, buy some things, misses Duo a lot...warnings all. n.n;;; Some sexual and adult themes, language, disturbing Relena.

**Summary: **Heero leaves, a six week mission which separates himself from Duo in this sweet little sequel to The Innuendo War, part of the Strings Universe. Contains sap, fluffy sweetness, gifts, and even more innuendos. u.u;;; Yaoi, 2x1, Heero's POV, AU, some disturbing scenes. Isn't it always the way with these two? n.n;;; OC, OOC, roses and necklaces, and a giant chocolate horse. O.o And even more fluff! XD

**Dedications:** For Dave, who spoons with me whenever I ask, and who I thank the gods for everyday. Love you. For Inu, who once killed me in a kitchen and let my blood spill on the floor, and who I miss terribly. To T.A.T.U, whose new song helped me write so many juicy lemons, and so soon too. n.n;; For reviewers of past and for reviewers to come, I love you all. And for Heero and Duo, whose love makes mine seem to shine a little brighter.

Thank you.

**AN:** I wrote this, and completed it, in 16 hours. Took a hell of a lot of caffeine, juice, cigarettes, and a thunderstorm, to set me straight.

Then I reread it, proof reading, you know.

As Heero would say, kami, it sucks better than Duo. u.u;;;

So I rewrote it. No Relena, well not much, no mission, just a description of the gifts, Heero's new friends and of how Heero misses Duo. Short and sweet, because frankly, I suck at the technical stuff. If you _really_ want to see some fighting, I'll write another story, of Heero going a little crazy when he's first introduced to Zero, and how Duo brings him back from the edge. n.n;;; That ideas been circling for the last few minutes, and I must say, I'm finding it hard to resist the writing bug.

**Strings – The Six Gifts**

No.

No way.

I glare at the screen of my laptop, and shudder as its words roll right through my eyes, straight down to my burning, raging soul.

Fucking hell J, why now?

"Heero?" Oh no...

I flinch guiltily, raising my eyes to Duo, who's looking at me in concern. Probably because the table I'm gripping with both hands is threatening to crack, and give, from the pressure my curling hands are exuding.

Damn it.

I scowl back at the screen, snarling as I read the mission guidelines once again.

01, BGM, Peacecraft, six great, L: 234 L:701, two day expectancy, enrol as S, Heero Takahashi, please 01, don't feel the need to put a gun to her head. 

Awaiting reply

"I hate you. I really, really do."

"Dark?" Hands slide around mine, making them uncurl from the tables edge, and I look up to find Wonder next to me, his eyes flickering as he searches mine. "Love, what's the matter?" I sigh as I gaze helplessly into those cobalt eyes, oceans that still tugged at my heart, still grounding me.

How can I lie to him? Say it's nothing?

The problem is, I love him too much to lie, ever. Kami.

Grrrr...

"Mission" I spat out, obviously annoyed, and he blinks for a few seconds, fingers slipping through mine as he pulls me to face him. He cocks his head to the side, braid flashing in the dim sunlight, eyes quizzical, and I can't help but flick my glance down, to his lips. Smooth pastel pink, surrounded by creamy skin...kami, I'm going to miss him.

"Where to?" Shinigami peeks out, eagerly, always ready to hear the details of a fight.

Kami...

"A bloody bodyguard mission. On the other side of the continent. Yeah" I said, as he turned pale, eyes widening as he leaned away from me. "A bloody _Relena_ mission."

He blinks some more, looking at our joined hands, before he jerks me forward, for a hug. I'm kinda used to it now. In the two weeks since we've been here, at the safe house, I've found that my Wonder Boy likes to carry me around like a little puppy. Not that I mind. It is kinda sweet, after all.

He smooths hair from my forehead, and presses his cheek to my temple, the ultimate soothing gesture. At least from him. I've never really cared about anyone enough to allow them to get this close, not for a very long time, and I think he knows about the liberties I allow him...

Not that I could ever deny him anything.

"How long? A few days?"

And the worst part is...

"Six weeks." I can't help the glimmer filling my eyes, or the tingling pain as they close. I won't see him for six damn weeks. A month and a half. The longest we've spent apart since...that day, in the kitchen. With the storm rolling outside. First time we...

He shivers, pulling me closer, and I know he's feeling the same way I do. Betrayed. We fight, we get hurt, we kill, and we can't even spend a little time together...?

I really, really hate J. Really.

"When do you ...leave?" His voice catches, a hitch in his throat, and I pull him close to me as well, slipping arms around his waist. I can feel his heartbeat, echoing against my shoulder, and I shudder as it starts to speed up. He's scared.

I know why, too.

"A couple of days. I'll...I'll be back. Only the good die young, and all that crap. Besides, these missions are relatively easy..."

"Yeah, yeah, when the crazy bitch isn't trying to feel you up in private!"

"No, she's taken to doing it in public now..."

We both spit, in revulsion.

Relena, aforementioned bane of my existence, was a necessary horror during this war. Ignoring the fact that we all disliked the obsessed girl, every second or third mission involved her to some extent, with me and Duo taking the brunt of it. In my opinion the braided boy got it off easy. She only _ignored_ him.

She seemed to think I _liked_ her. Yes, in that way.

Like, as in, carry her off into the sunset, get married, have five millions kids and live in a large palace by the sea happily ever after kinda like.

I would _like_ to kill her, but unfortunately, she's needed.

He sighed, disgusted. Probably a little with J, a little with the mission, and a lot to do with the pink terror. Kami, she's like one of those horny poodles...always humping your leg, or trying to lick your face...

He starts laughing, and I realise I muttered that last bit out loud.

Courageously fighting a rising blush, I lean past the shaking boy, still chortling and pounding his thigh with his fist, and type a quick message back to the doctor of doom.

Mission accepted. I hate you. 

A few seconds later I receive a smiley face, scowling sternly at me and wagging a finger, before it too broke out in a fit of giggles. Stupid old perverted bastard. I sent him a virus, one that would show porn with his head stuck on a sheep whenever he struck a key, and smiled happily as angry blistering writing filled the screen. I thank God every day for Duo and his tricks. More words, scrolling down the connection...wow. Really, old man, you shouldn't talk to kids like that...

I shut the laptop with a little more force than was needed, and push Duo off of my lap. He fell to the floor with a surprised "Hmmph!", and turned to glare at me with wounded eyes. I smile gently, infuriatingly so, and get up to walk past him.

I pause in the doorway, looking back, and raise an eyebrow. "Wanna go for a swim?"

As if I would spend my last few days with him moping.

I really like summer.

Besides the fact that, again, Wonder Boy doesn't wear much clothing, it's...nice. All you can do when you get too hot is swim, or lounge around, and it's always preferable to do that with company. Especially extremely cute, not to mention sexy, company. Kami, I love it when all he wears is a pair of board shorts...

I raise my eyebrows, and my eyes widen.

Okay...maybe I like him more when he isn't even wearing board shorts.

"Come on Dark! You have to try skinny dipping _sometime_ in your life!"

I snort, and lay back down on the tree branch supporting me. Willow trees make surprisingly good beds...especially when you cross a few branches over, and tie them with a rope. The leaves are soft, and smell like spices, and the wind stirring the branches is cooled before it ever reaches you. Beautiful. Almost as much as he is.

My eyes close, and I revel in the sensations of almost floating, cool running water a few inches below my relaxed body, the scent caressing my skin and nose. My hands rise, so that I can rest my head on my crossed arms, head turned to the side, sun filtered yet warm upon my back.

I can hear Duo splashing away, whooping madly as he dives-bombs into the water. He loves water, almost as much as me, and he never passes up a chance to swim or have fun in this dam. I don't blame him one bit. It isn't very often we get the chance to relax, and behave like normal teenagers, and we don't begrudge anything that leaves us a few hours alone together. We learned too much from our privacy to go and waste it simply because of a mission from hell.

About that mission...I'm not normally the 'hating' type, but Relena pushes even me a little too far. I don't mind her liking me, even if I don't understand her reasons for doing so, or for thinking that I would have anything to do with her. I know Duo thinks I'm beautiful. He keeps saying it enough even I'm getting a little tired of it, though it never loses the warm glow it brings to my heart, or the shy smiles I give him whenever he says it. It's just...he thinks it. Nobody else should be allowed to. I know, pathetic, but...if I ever want people to love me for just my looks is the day I'll go and jump of a cliff.

Vanity is for losers.

Relena likes to look beautiful...apparently she spends hours in the morning getting her 'look' right. Honestly, I don't see the point of it all. She would look much more beautiful is she went without the makeup, and allowed herself to be a little sloppy. I would never look at her the way she wants me to, but I can't resent the feelings she wants. This...love, I have with Duo, should happen to everyone.

Kami, I really sound like a lovesick teenager...

Heh. I like it though.

Yeah...even though this month and a half will probably be torture, at least I have him to look forwards too. When all this bodyguard crap is over.

I open an eye, and stretch languidly when cold water drops onto my back, falling from a certain braided pilot who is leaning over me, a gentle smile on his face. "Wassup, Wonder?"

He cocks his head, his smile becoming a little warmer, and says, "I was just wondering what you were thinking about."

"Nothing much. Too hot to think." He laughs, and stretches out on one of the willow 'beds' beside me, a creation Trowa and Wufei had made last week, after seeing me make mine. We spent a lot of time here, when the house became unbearably stifling during the day, and Quatre always had an ice box ready to go, filled with drinks and other stuff.

"Hmmm." I grin lazily at him as he lets his braid trail into the water, cobalt eye studying me intently, and I don't miss the small glance he gives my uncovered back and ribcage. He loves to look at me, kami knows why. I woke up one morning, and found him just looking at my face, gently touching my cheekbone with careful fingertips. A very pleasant way to start the day, if you ask me.

"So...Wonder...what are we going to do, when I go away?" He blinks at me, a little confused, and I stare pointedly at his own ribcage, gaze lingering on his chest and collarbone, slightly tanned from all this time in the sun. Creamy vanilla instead of ghost pale. He gasps as my eyes travel lower, to his uncovered...well...and he chokes. "I know I'm sure as hell going to miss more than your very lovely company."

He starts coughing, and I smile again as he starts to blush. Duo Maxwell blushing is just about the cutest thing in the world, besides his butt. In my humble opinion, anyway.

"Uh..."

"I suppose we'll just have to do some stuff before I leave." I pout, rolling carefully onto my back, and settle down with a sigh. We haven't done anything...well, not much, really...since that time, a couple of weeks ago. Those two days...almost too intense, and we both knew we had to back off, in case we let it become unhealthy for us. Well, unhealthy for me, anyway. I needed some time to heal.

"Whatever, Dark." He rolls my eyes at me, trying to hide his amusement, and loses valiantly when a cheeky grin grows slowly on his lips. I laugh, a little breathlessly, and stare up at the sky, which is so clear it seems like it goes on forever. The edges of a couple of 'butterfly' trees, an invention of Wufei, who thought their fluttering leaves looked like a million green butterflies, edged the scene, and I could even see the faint verge of a smudge of grey...that should be L4, at this time of day, so close to the moon. Utterly beautiful.

If I ever needed a reason to fight...this wonderful day, with this gorgeous person beside me, calm and peaceful and so _lovely_...this would be it. A thing definitely worth fighting for.

A cold hand rests lightly on my chest, and I yelp, before glaring at the offender, who's...kami. Uh-oh.

I scramble away from him, and deep oceans, plum glints in cobalt depths, study me intently as I try to make a run for it. "Dark..." A purr. Kami, not now, I was just getting _comfortable_...

"No way, Duo. Not in the open."

"Aww...poor little 'Ro..._definitely_ not an exhibitionist."

"That's _right_ Maxwell, you would do well to remember that."

He stops, one hand on my thigh as I try to climb up one of my so called beautiful willows, and a crooked smile bends his lips. "Ok...how about back at the safe house?"

I can't tell if he's surprised or not, because I'm already making a mad dash for the trail leading 'home'.

He catches me at the back door, shorts miraculously back on and hugging his thin hips, and he slams me into the kitchen wall, making it shudder, lips locked to mine. I squirm as a now hot hand trails down my back, pausing to rub the knobs of my spine, before clutching my butt to pull me closer to him, both of us gasping.

A surprised squeak.

My head jerks up, and my eyes widen, staring into shocked aquamarine. Quatre dropped the rolling pin he was holding, squeaking again, before he shot out of the kitchen at high speeds, blonde hair whipping around from the wind he created. I was utterly mortified. Duo just grinned, though a blush was rising in his cheeks.

"Well...that'll give them something to talk about."

I mutter as he picks me up again, carrying me down the hallway, crashing into a wall again a few times as we paused to nip at each other, breathless, hands going _everywhere_. Kami, he must be _really_ frustrated...

Wufei calmly walks around us, spectacles on his thin blade of a nose and a book somewhere around his face, tank top sticking to him from the heat. "Heero. Duo" he greets absently, wandering a little before he stops, sliding his glasses up his sweaty nose. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Yeah" Duo moans breathlessly, near my ear, and I squirm as he ground himself against me. Baka, there's another person right _there_! He grins at me, attacking my lips again, and murmurs, "Too perfect a day to waste."

"I agree."

He ambled off, still reading, and I breathe a quick sigh of relief. While the pilot of Nataku could be the most focused and determined person I know, give him a book, and he's off with the fairies in La-La land.

I think we might need a new door...Duo certainly kicked ours open hard enough for the hinges to be damaged. Sighing again, and shaking my head at my lover's ruthlessness when he isn't getting something he wants fast enough, I was jerked inside the room, and Duo kicked the door shut. Yep, we'll definitely need a new door. I glare at him as he pulls me down on the bed, before I melt, as he suckles on a nerve in my neck.

"Du-oooooooohhh..."

"Saying something?" he asked innocently, before lips find mine again, a tongue eagerly tracing my bottom lip, trying to force his way inside. I let him do it with an internal grumble, still feeling a little lazy and loathe to do anything strenuous, like shoving him away, and he takes full advantage of my lowered defences.

Whoever says Duo Maxwell could never be an intelligent tactical officer has _never_ met him when he's in heat.

One hand gripping my thigh, kneading the slightly tense muscles, the other curling under my back and around my waist, a knee forcing my legs apart...kami, he's good. I virtually become a live nerve, shuddering under ever single touch, starting to grip him as eagerly as he was me. Wonder Boy could get an elephant to live with a family of mice, if he put his mind to it.

He skins off my shorts, eyes eagerly drinking in the sight of me practically spreadeagled before him, shivering, panting, and glaring at him with heated eyes.

"No...not today. Just..."

He blinks, and then nods. He knows I have a limit, and today that limit is penetration. Besides the fact that even after two weeks I get a little twinge every now and then, I want to...save it. For when I get back.

There is no _if_ in this situation. Only _when_.

He then blushes. I raise an eyebrow.

"Um...do you mind if I still..."

I blink at him, then at the tube of lube that has somehow managed to make an appearance, his fingers wrapped around it. He waved it uncertainly, a shy sort of smile on his face, and added helpfully, "Like...prostate hunting?"

Prostate what?

Oh.

_Oh._

Okay. I like the sound of that.

He laughs when I nod eagerly, spreading my legs a little wider and raising my hips in the air. He skims off his board shorts, pausing to chuck both of ours into the corner of the room, both landing in a neat little pile. Kami knows how I did it, but over the two weeks we've been living together, I've actually taught him to be a little tidier than he normally is. Not that he isn't a pig sometimes.

That half melted chocolate bar on the windowsill, for instance. I feel slightly offended on behalf of the owner, because I know chocolate can be a bitch to wash off of lustrous paint.

Don't ask me how I know.

He hands me his braid, because he knows I like to hold a part of him when he touches me, especially like this. Besides being highly intimate, it can be a little nerve racking in the stress department. Even though I love him with all my heart, it can be a little scary to let someone get so...close, to you.

I think everybody who does things like this feels like that.

He kisses the inside of my spread thigh, eyes flicking upwards every few seconds to look into mine, as he slowly undid the cap on the tube. I growled. He was taking his fair sweet time, and despite my earlier misgivings, I _really _want him to do this. Okay, I amend that.

If I have to, I'll beg. Because of those eyes, so heated, never leaving mine.

Kami.

He swipes the top of the swirled tube opening across his fingertips, leaving a trail of slick, glossy gel, that I just _know_ will be cold, despite the tube laying in the sun for all these hours. He smirks as he raises my right leg, me going along with it, in a pattern already ingrained into my body, and I sigh as numb coldness appears, sliding down before it circles my opening.

"Dark..."

"Hmmm...Wonder?" I can already barely think, and he's asking something...?

"Are you ready?"

I nod slowly, eyes closing as I press an arm over them, gasping as that kami blessed circling speeds up a little.

"Wonder...?"

"Hush, and feel..."

_Oh_...it slips inside, delicately, pausing for a moment as he kisses my thigh again, lips warm and breath soft against my shivering skin. My grip slowly tightens on the rope of hair I'm cradling, careful not to tug or pull, but just possessing it slackly, and I shudder as it slips out again.

Being like this...is strange. While I know that we aren't going to do much more than this, a part of my mind feels past times, like this. When he was deep inside me, lunging into me, breaths hurried and skin soaked with sweat...brilliant candlelight...pleasure so fleeting and yet so solid it was unreal...

I can feel him moving, so that he's lying beside me, stomach pressed into my hip and leaning away from my angled leg. I shift my arm and crack open an eye; he's lying on his side, naked as the day he was born, eyes dark and watching my body's reactions as he slipped inside me again. Oh. I forgot. Whenever he did something like this, it was for a definite reason, so that he could join me without hurting me. He's never done it just for my pleasure, and I think my reactions are surprising him a little. Not that what we're doing is wrong, or unnatural, for us. Just something we haven't explored previously.

Something I wish we had, because...kami...this is _definitely_ a thing on my top ten.

"Dark...oh, Dark...you're so hot, inside...so slick, and wet, and tight..."

I murmur, shifting against him as he presses forwards again, digit slipping a little deeper. My body feels lethargic, filled with a quiet kind of bliss, and I murmur again when his lips press against mine shortly, sighing as he gently licks, before pulling away. My eye closes, without my consent, and I smile slowly as that digit pushes further, my muscles fluttering and others tightening and tingling, a mystery I don't want to ever solve.

A hand curls with my free one, fingers slipping between mine to clutch together, holding me steady as my hips start moving, languidly. I can't control them any more than I can control my slow, quiet, soft pants; this feeling...running through me...it's undeniable, and primal, and yet so sweet...

He twists a little, inside me, so that a gentle fingertip edges closer to my prostate...a dark purring invades me as it finds it and slowly rubs, a tiny circling motion, and I can't help the moan flying from between my fluttering lips. He chases it back inside with a tiny kiss, and my eyes open part way, to watch cobalt ones studying me closely.

"Dark...you're so fucking sexy when you're like this..." A soft whisper, as if he's afraid of destroying the moment we're sharing. Most of our love making starts out almost brutal; something shifts, and then it's like this, caring, and slow, and always about us. We don't put ourselves above the other.

We never will.

I lick my lips as he withdraws, only to shove forwards again, muscles protesting slightly at this new thing before they get used to the rhythm. Every time he withdraws I pull back, hips rolling, before I meet it again, that feeling of pressure increasing, of being filled and held and cradled. He kisses me again, before he moves along my jaw line, little nips that make me shudder, and I moan softly again as he bites down gently on my ear.

"Mmmm...Duo..."

He totally leaves me, making me shudder at the feeling of emptiness, before...kami...two fingers..._oh._...

"'Ro…I want you to feel good...does this feel good...?"

I nod slowly, pressing against him as those digits speed up a little, every time they come into me aiming unnervingly towards my prostate. I can feel him tremble as my pants fill with noise, tiny little cries every time he pushes forwards leaving me breathless, and he shivers as I undulate against him like a serpent.

Miniature flames dance along my nerves, flaring every time he slips inside and finds that sweet place again, muscles fluttering every time he withdraws. The pace grows faster, my hips moving in a quicker rhythm, making him speed up along with me. Waves of pleasure course through me, making my insides turn to jelly and my brain to mush, my cock so hard and aching it almost hurts...but I don't want to be touched there...I just want _this..._how he's moving, short hard thrusts, the pressure flowing, and then ebbing, so fast I'm crying out continuously, barely pausing to draw breath…

He's gasping now, spurred to a higher level as he watches me quiver constantly, and I have to wonder if he might be voyeuristic. If he is, it's my fault. Making him watch us, that time...making him see how good I feel when he's inside me...kami...

That memory finally sends me over the edge, the bliss of orgasm rolling like a wave over me, engulfing me as I cry out, going rigid before sinking, boneless, into the mattress. As my cock fills with a kind of lightning, he groans, and I know he's watching it pulse, sending the proof of this sweet rapture onto my belly, and his fingers pause over my prostate, pressing lightly, and I whimper as I thrust upwards one more time. My hand squeezes his, hard, and I shudder as I finally come down off of this high, my eyes staring straight into his, oceans capturing all of my attention.

"Dark..." The slightest whisper, and I let go of his braid so I can wipe my sweaty hair off of my forehead, gasping and curling instinctively towards him. "Jesus, Dark...that was _beautiful_..."

He unfurls, leaning downwards, and I sigh as he gently laps the mess of my stomach, broad sweeps of his tongue that would have made a nun convert to this religion of sex and love and pleasure. It gives me an idea, and when he's finished, I sit up, placing his braid to the side as one trembling arm holds me upright.

"Li-" My voice cracks, and I clear my throat, before murmuring, "Lie down, Wonder."

"Hmmm?" Hazy eyes peer at me, curious in the dim light escaping the shut blinds on the window, and I smile as I press him down and over, so that he's lying on his back. He lets go of my hand, touching my chest lightly before it falls to his side. "What are ya up to, Dark?"

"Returning the favour" I whisper softly, gently grasping his pulsing erection, and he ripples as he moans softly. I don't know about him, but this is probably the bit I like best about sex. This...returning, this giving of pleasure. It's...intoxicating.

That long, liquid moan again as I gently lick the head of his cock – savouring the taste for a second, as I've only done this once before, and I want to remember everything - and he shudders as I let my lips descend the rigid length I'm gently holding. One hand rises to grip his hip as he pushes upwards, because I know he can barely control himself when something like this happens. And also, being choked by your lover isn't really a part of my life's ultimate wishes.

That taste...strange, organic, yet entirely lovely...fills my mouth, as I descend even further down. I pause, chasing down the tiny ripples threading their way through his muscles with my free hand, now leaving his cock, and he pants softly. I love this feeling. Like being in total control, when you're really only a slave to the other...a slave to the mounting joy, of keeping this lust stoked, like a fire...

"Dark..." He keens as I use my tongue, swirling around as I move up again, before descending. "Da-ark..."

He won't last long, I can tell by the pulsing heat I can feel with my mouth. He was just too turned on by me. If I had lasted a little longer, maybe even a minute longer, he probably would have come before me. I blush, glad that his eyes are closed, his head thrown back as a hand reaches down to clamp onto my shoulder, and he can't see it. Being seen blushing about this is...well, embarrassing.

"There...please...nearly..." He keeps gasping, hips trying to escape the hold I have on them, and I decide to take pity on the poor boy. I make a vacuum with my mouth, sucking hard as I add a swirl of tongue, sliding up that thick, hard length, drawing his orgasm from deep within him. He doesn't disappoint.

"Oh,_ God!_" he screams, curling around himself as his cock shudders furiously, pulse ringing like a bell, and he whimpers as I suck again, drawing the last of his liquid heat into my mouth, before I swallow, not spluttering like I did the first time we did this, immensely pleased with myself. His eyes open, hazy as he shudders with the climax, and he probably sees my smug expression. He smiles, amused and exasperated and tired, all at the same time, reaching down to pull me up, to lie against his body.

I lick my lips before I yawn, exhausted even though it's still early afternoon, and he turns my head with gentle hands, to softly kiss my lips. I shiver, thrilled at the taste of me in his mouth, as he does in mine, and we both smile as we lay down again, curled around each other. He slides a slim leg between mine, hands settling around my thin waist, pulling me close and studying me with his eyes.

"Get some sleep, Dark."

"Mmmm...'kay, Wonder...that was good..." I yawn again, blinking sleepily, and he fondly brushes the hair off of my forehead, pausing to gently kiss both of my eyelids as they flutter closed.

"It was. Sleep."

His words were like a spell, spoken softly near my ear, and I heard a soft sigh, as the dark at the edges of my vision started to chase me into oblivion.

"Love you..." I can't help the whisper, and I swear I can feel his smile, his eyes tracing my face, his gentle hands pulling me ever closer.

"And I love you. My Dark Love. My wonderful, special, beautiful'Ro..."

Sleep welcomes me, and I her.

Laptop? Check. Toiletries? Check. Gun? Ammo? Spare cartridges? Triple check. Ear plugs? I shudder. Check. Music? Check, along with my MP7 player. Lube? What's the lube doing with the pile on my bed? Oh well. Check. Clothes? Check. New uniform? Check. Day clothes? Check. List?

Huh?

"Um...it was just an idea."

I turn to look at Duo, who's leaning against the door, eyes sad as he watches me pack slowly. "We won't be seeing each other for a long time, and I thought..."

I look down at the list in my hands, smoothing an edge of the sheet on the mattress as I lower myself onto it. What could this be all about...?

_Hiya! Greetings from the Wonder Land Of Sexual Fancies. _(I snort)

_Look up, Dark._

I do, to find him directly in front of me, hands reaching to grab my knees, eyes deadly serious. Not even a trace of a smile on those full, delicate lips. His eyes flicker downwards, to the piece of paper cradled in my hands, and I take my cue, reading on.

_I couldn't really say this in words, mainly because it sounded totally ridiculous when I played it out in my head...but anyway...where was I? Oh yeah. I want us to do something, for each other._

_Six weeks apart, and when you get back, it will be six months together. Kinda seemed like a coincidence before I realised I tracked and shot that horrible creature a couple of years ago. So, I wanted us to do something special for each other._

_I got a message, a couple of hours ago, from G. I'm going on a mission, too. A long one, 5 weeks, in the Australia Territories, near Sydney. When I get back, it'll be a couple of days before you. They need my skills for a job at the main southern hemisphere MS production plant. In and out work, you know the drill._

I look back up at him, and flinch at the wounded look in his eyes.

I know what he means by that.

Straight in and out for him, the master of sneak, so he probably wouldn't be in much danger. Missions with Relena always involved me getting captured, or injured, or having to do something drastically stupid to ensure the brainless girls safety. He thinks I might not be coming back.

I shake my head slowly, and keep on reading.

_While you're drinking vodka tonics, with the crazy bitch, on some pretty beach near some pretty castle, I'll be up to my ass in muck and grime. Doesn't mean I ain't hitting the markets, and I advise you to do the same as well. Cos, well, I want us to get some gifts for each other. Six gifts, one for every month and for every week, to be bought on a Friday. You guessed it, at the end of each week. That way we'll have something **really** good to look forward to, huh?_

I know what he's doing. It's like a contract, saying that we have to be alive at the end of each wretched week, so we don't disappoint the other when downtime finally makes its welcome appearance.

_I already know some of the things I want to get you, but I wanted to make sure you get me some good stuff too. So, I've made a list, and for each week, we have to get something for the other that corresponds to the numbered itinerary. Get that, hunky man of mine?_

_Coolness._

I laugh a little, and his hands squeeze my knees, because he can catch a hint of sadness in my amusement.

_Get something that the other can wear, and no, it can not be clothing. (No boots!  )_

_Something tasty, that will last for a long time, that can be hidden in our you-know-whats (Me in my buddy, you in your other half)_

_Something utterly useless, and yet something the other will enjoy..._

_Something made by ourselves._

_A weapon of some kind. (Something sharp!)_

_A song, by any band or singer, to be played in our you-know-whats on every mission._

I raise my eyebrow, grinning shakily, and he pulls me forward, for another hug. He knows how disappointed I am, about this whole being apart, if me breaking a glass tonight at dinner, because I squeezed too hard, was any indication.

"There's more" he whispers, because he can see where my eyes have stopped on the paper, and I nod before I continue.

_If you survive being butt pinched by the hell cat, we'll meet up back here, cos Q-man says we won't be moving for another couple of months. Wuffers will be with me a bit of the time, hunting Trieze down or so he says, but there's this huge book festival in Melbourne, so I'm not entirely sure his motives are entirely pure..._

_I'll be safe. You keep yourself safe too. Now finish packing, you have a bus to catch, to go to your you-know-what. Keep yourself sane and Relena free, or I'll hurt you._

_Love always, Duo._

What can you say to that?

We hug one last time, his breath shaky against my neck as I greedily drink him in, his touch, his smell, his taste, and I look him over one last time, staring deep into his eyes, before I pull the zip closed on my bag.

"Bye, Wonder. I'll get you some good things. ...I love you" I whisper, and he nods, waving, as I slip out the door.

My eyes open, and I smile.

Friday. The first day of the gifts.

It was quite easy, actually, to make Relena back off. I simply dropped a few...uh...'hints', that I'm seeing somebody, and she's off researching on the libraries computers, trying to find out who 'she' is. I shudder. I seriously think the girl would kill any opposition that tries to have a go at me again.

The hair pulling fight, in the cafeteria yesterday, for instance. That poor girl needs to wear wig now...and she had only said good morning...

Relena + Hormones + Wedding Dress My Worst Nightmare.

Funny. I've always been quite good at maths, yet somehow this logic has escaped me until this very moment. Kami, if you had the pink thing staring at you like a antsy dog eyeing the last tree in the world with its legs crossed, you'd fumble over the basic times tables.

She'd make Einstein's hair turn electric green, I swear on everything holy and full of braid.

Speaking of braids...I kinda miss my Wonder Boy. Kinda...nope, I miss him so much I'm seriously considering leaving Relena for dead, hitchhiking back across the country, and making wild monkey love with him on the bank of the dam.

I'm sort of incensed, you understand.

Who knew? Me, the master of the ultimate poker face, pouting at my wall and somehow blaming it for keeping me away from my Duo. It's all the walls fault. I hate the wall. I hate the stupid, scungy, mangy wall. I'm going to burn it down the night I leave.

Kami, I _miss_ him...so much it hurts...

I miss his touches...his smiles...his scents, and his taste...I miss the way his hair frizzes sometimes, after he's been for a swim, and the heat makes it curl...I miss the way he makes our bed, when it's his turn, painstakingly smoothing down the sheets, and then pulling me on top of them for a cuddle...I miss him carrying me around, like some man bag he forgot to take the wrapping off of...I miss his weird cooking, and his strange drink mixtures, and the odd chocolate bars always stashed under our pillows, which he never eats...I miss the way he talks to me, as if every word is dragged from the bottom of his soul, me the only person ever worth saying them too...I miss Shinigami, and The Joker, and Wonder, the one that keeps the dark at bay...I miss the way he puts on his shoes...I miss the way he teases everybody, just to let them know he still cares about them, and still loves them...I miss the way we make love, the way we kiss, and the way he touches me...

I glare, and suddenly, a window needs replacing. Again.

Fifth one this week. Kami. I better pay full before I leave, or the headmistress is gonna have her ovaries scream at me again. So what if I can't keep a tight rein on my temper, and start throwing my sneakers through the window at the oddest times? Who cares? I certainly don't. Wonder would think it's a hoot.

After dragging myself off to shower, and somehow managing to survive Relena glomping me outside of every. single. damn. classroom, I find myself in the middle of the main street, laptop in my bag and a few thousand credits burning a hole in my spandex.

Ow. That thought just triggered cringing defence reflexes.

Relena's safe. Fridays she spends with the remainder of her family, in a security guarded home, with steel reinforced walls. She'd be fine. At least that's what I told the cringing soldier, who had been shouting about unnecessary risks as I caught the bus, before I finally silence him by hitting him on the head with a shovel. This is too important.

I stare down at the list in my hands, by this time so crinkled and worn from me holding it every single night, as a barrier to keep the night away as only he can really do, it's barely legible. I can still read the first 'Gift' suggestion, though.

Something to wear. Can't be clothes. Hmmm...what can you wear, that isn't clothes? Hats? Wait, he said boots were out of the question, so that pretty much rules out hats and gloves and scarves...

Tennis shoes? Nah, he likes those boots...hmmm...Duo in thigh high boots...

Drool hits the pavement, before I shake myself out of my stupor.

Meh...I must have a poleaxed expression on my face, or _something_, because this old lady stands in front of me, blinking. "Are you alright, dear?"

She must be a hundred, she's so old, her fine pink skin wrinkled, and as thin as centuries old parchment. Her wispy snow white hair is in a ponytail, off the back of her head, and her green obi...wait. She's Japanese?

No, she has bright green and blue eyes...must like old Japanese clothing. "I'm fine."

"You going shopping for a friend?" she asks, looking at the list in my hands.

I shrug. "Sort of...he's not really a friend, per se."

Damn it, why do old people always have to wink so knowingly? I blush as she titters, eyes flashing and hands tightening on her handbag. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this" I growl, as I go to move past her, but I stop, as a gentle hand falls on my arm.

She's lucky I have my shields so low, otherwise she'd be flying into that brick wall by now.

"Sorry for prying, dear" she murmurs, staring at my face again. "It's just, I know what it's like. Shopping for the person you love...it's a trial in itself, with you the judge, jury and executioner. It's hard."

I sigh, relaxing slightly. "It _is_" I admitted, voice low as I stare at the crinkled list again. Duo's idea is a good one, undoubtedly, but asking the boy who thought kissing was a form of cultural greeting between men and women all over the world, to go shopping for gifts to please another person...? Kami, he's dim-witted sometimes. But in a good, lovely, boyfriendy type of way.

"This is for your boyfriend, right?"

I nod. Might as well conform her suspicions. Besides, I don't know how...and I don't know exactly _why_...but I can tell she's a good person. Heh. Maybe some of Wonder's social grace is rubbing off on me...

"Is it a specific thing?" I don't think she has anything better to do, because she's wrapped her arm around mine, leading me down the promenade at a slow walk, eyes looking up into mine, because she's a head shorter than me.

"Something to wear, but it can't be clothes." I'm grumbling, I know, and I know some people might find it offensive, but all she's looking is amused.

"Ah. He wants some jewellery. Clever boy you have there."

I sigh, smacking myself on the side of the head, list fluttering and crackling as it's crushed again. Damn Wonder and his tricky mind...

"Hmmm...you seem like the type of guy that would be on top, to me." My eyes widened, and I must look terribly surprised, and embarrassed, because kami, I _am_, and then her expression becomes considering. "No...you're the taker, in this relationship, no? Wonder why he wants jewellery then..."

"Um...he was going to get me some things, before...well, we're apart for six weeks."

"Not voluntarily. One thing I hate about wars, is the fact it tears young lovers apart. So...hurtful. I lost my hubby that way, you know."

I stop, feet faltering, and her grip becomes gentle, soothing. "No. Not that way, dear. He found some young soldier fluff. Haven't seen him for two years, and I have to say, good riddance." She cackles, teeth surprisingly white and even, for somebody so old, and pulls me along until I'm walking again. My smile is tiny, but it's there, and she laughs again as we stop outside of a jewellers.

"Sorry again dear, for being so insisting, but do you mind if I come with you? I was just looking for some white rose seeds today, nothing special, and it's the only time they allow me out each week..." I blink, and she continues, saying passionately, "I'm of the deathly squad, at the old folks home. I've only got a couple of years left, and I want to spend them as wisely as I can. Helping a handsome young man like you, find your special someone a special gift, sounds pretty wise to me. Or it might not be. I can't tell the difference anymore, I'm so old."

I tilt my head to the side, considering...the soldier part of me is totally relaxed, sensing no threat from this perhaps senile old lady, and is listing several ways in which she might benefit me...I shove him aside, because...he's so inhuman. This woman offered her assistance so freely, and eased me into a completely relaxed manner so easily...I'm surprised to find, I like her. She would be somebody's grandmother. She was like...mum, in a way.

"I would like that" I say softly, staring down, and the beam she produces rivals Duo's for its warmth and intensity.

"Brilliant, dear. My name's Elsie, by the way."

"Heero." We shake hands, her grip surprisingly firm and strong, and then she steers me inside the shop.

"Well, this place is nice" she says, gazing around at all the glittering jewellery, and chains, and pendents. Hundreds of uncut gemstones line the walls, as well as basic precious metal holders and rings, and I realise this is a customising place. They sprung up a few decades ago, the demand for people wanting personalised items for themselves and loved ones simply too strong, so many jewellers went this way, offering a wide selection which could be made in a single afternoon.

A man was sitting behind the counter, idly twirling the largest moustache I have seen on a person, outside of record books, slick and oily in the dim light coming through the window. Expressive black eyes rise to meet ours, and he grins, sliding off of his stool and placing a magazine beneath the wooden counter as he walks over to us. "Welcome to Ricardo's" he murmurs, shaking both of our hands, his tone a strange dialect of old Spanish and new common. It's warm, and nice, and I feel my momentary tension drain away.

"Ricardo, I take it?" At his nod, Elsie grins, standing on the tips of her toes to peer at his upper lip. "My, what a hair monster you have perched there. Feed it much?"

I blink, and then blush, a little embarrassed, but Ricardo roars with laughter. "Oh yes, it eats half of what I eat" he says demurely, reaching up to stroke it again. "My lover says I eat most of my meals at the only time it _isn't_ mealtimes."

"Dear, that's what they are _there_ for. Now, Ricardo, we are here on pressing business. This fine, handsome young man here..." Me? Handsome? Kami damn my blushing reflex. "...wants to get a piece of jewellery for his other half."

"Wonderful" the man sighs, and I have this sudden, intense insight, that he really _is_ pleased. Strange. "If there's one thing I love, other than _my_ other half, it is giving jewellery as presents. Wonderful, wonderful. And the making of them is half the fun."

"Exactly." They smile at each other, and I feel like I've been left out on a joke. Maybe older people...adults...find things funny differently to teenagers.

"Now." Ricardo is suddenly all business, steering me and Elsie to the other side of the shop, seating us at a counter and handing us a can of cool drink each. "What exactly are you looking for?"

I squirm, loving the feel of the cool metal against my palm, yet I'm suddenly flummoxed. Jewellery? I have no idea what Duo would want. Hell, I'm not even really sure why people wear it at all. Elsie notices my slightly panicked look, and pats my arm, eyes kind. "Take your time, dearest. We have all the time in the world. Right, Ricardo?" He nods. "I love having customers in my shop. Besides, it's been rather slow this afternoon. You'll probably be my only customers for the rest of the day."

I smile, grateful, and sit there for a while, thinking this whole thing over.

The minutes slowly tick by, taking us ever forwards towards sunset, and Elsie and Ricardo are chatting, talking about, of all things, racing car games. I open the can of soft drink, as Elsie has done, and I don't feel that strange tension that always comes with accepting drinks I haven't gotten myself. It's just a soldiering instinct. Never accept a pre prepared drink, especially from someone you don't know. But...it's packaged, and was sealed, and I trust this Ricardo man. He's like Elsie; good, somehow. Like an uncle, perhaps.

It's cool, and fizzy, and I savour the lemony taste, just perfect for the heat beating down inside, blown away by the over head fan.

"Heero, dear? I have an idea, if you're not too adverse to it." Elsie starts me out of my slight daze, and I blink, astounded that I'm relaxed enough to actually let my mind wander. I look down at her, and she smiles, reaching into her purse and pulling out a pad and a pen, clicking the nib down, and poising it above. "Tell me about this boyfriend of yours. We'll see if we can make something that will be _just_ like him."

Ricardo nods, and I'm surprised, wondering why he's not giving me funny looks. I've seen enough people do it to other gay citizens before. "My lover did that once too" he sighs, gazing wistfully at a photo on the desk, which is a picture of him and another man, arms wrapped around each others shoulder and smiling at the camera. Ah. I see now.

"Um...well..." I have to pause, because I've never really categorised Duo, before. Sure I've admired him, and thought about him a lot, but...

"He's like...water, I guess. His eyes...like oceans. All the time. When he gets angry, or upset, they have clouds over them...I hate that...and his smile can be cold, as well as warm and loving. He can be a smart little bastard, very intelligent, and funny...his practical jokes are hilarious...and he always dresses in black, with a white priest collar. He likes boots, and knives, and comic books...he reminds me of a cat, a big one, or maybe a wolf. Something dark sometimes. But...he's the kindest, gentlest person I have ever met, at the same time. He has a dead part of him, like I do, but the rest is so alive...he's a great fighter, an unbeatable ally, my best friend..." Kami. It's not all of him, I could never describe him fully, but his face fills my mind as the words pour out of me uncontrollably.

Elsie's scribbling furiously, her script flowery and flowing, tongue poking out slightly from her pink lips as she concentrates. Ricardo's nodding, looking pleased, twirling his silly moustache again, so that it curls at the end.

"There" Elsie says, sounding satisfied. "That wasn't so hard, was it? But...I hate to ask..."

"We're soldiers" I say simply, not looking away, calm and steady. She nods, smiling lightly, and whispers, "I could tell. You seem...dangerous, but in a muted way, like you're keeping yourself sheathed, a sharp sword inside a quiet holder. You have great heart, even I can see that, with these cataracts of mine...your boy's a lucky, lucky man."

I smile, touched. "Thank you."

She hums, glancing around, and then looks piercingly at Ricardo. "What type of metal do you have that's 'cold, warm, slick, friendly and beautiful', all at the same time?"

"Platinum" he answers at once. Elsie glares and he puts up his hands in a defensive gesture, laughing. "No, no, not because it's slightly expensive, but it describes that lovely metal to a T."

"Oh...alright."

I nod. Price is no problem.

"Now, something like dog tags would be appropriate...one a plain army like one, the other more personalised. Yes?' I nod again, slightly shocked and speechless by her quick mind. This woman would be very dangerous, if she was young, and in the army...

Kami. She_ still is _dangerous, for the simple fact she's older, and more experienced. Thank God she's so gentle. I dunno. Maybe all old women are like this.

"Mmmm...what kind of stone is 'sharp, funny, warm, lovely, fey, ocean like, and beautiful'?"

"Hmm..._that_ is a little more difficult." Ricardo rises from his chair, crossing the room in a loping stride that I slightly envy, for its graceful ballet like quality, and pauses in front of a glass case full of rough stones, and mud coloured bricks. "Could be sapphire, could be azure agate...opals, perhaps? Small ones, rounded instead of cut, flat and sombre bladed, and set in...hmm...a circle? Yes, that would be nice...priest collar, perhaps roman patterns of some sort? With Latin encircling it?"

"That's lovely, dear. What do you think, Heero?"

"...that's just like him." I know what opals look like, seeing many different types around J's lab, for opal is great in testing permeable gasses. His eyes...and, in the brief moment, the soul bond Quatre connected us to...opals are like him. Just like him.

"Brilliant!"

"I have a computer program that does all this sort of thing...we can set up the design now, and it can be ready in about an hour or so. Is that agreeable?"

I nod, and my smile must be full of warmth, for they are both smiling at me as if they've been given the greatest gift in the world.

A few minutes later the design is set. Duo's name and where he's from along with some brief personal information, for I have no birth date...neither of us have one, I explained, and I couldn't figure out why they looked so sad... and his nickname, Wonder Boy, is set for the first tag, a small inch high piece of flat metal, a few millimetres thick, and about half an inch wide.

The second is the same as the first, but with seven flat, rounded opals, the largest in the centre and the other six encircling it, all surrounded by jerking engraved lines, in a circle. The Latin is a personalised statement, 'Waves guide, and winds blow, but the only thing I feel pulling me is you', and I can only hope he won't be able to understand it. I hope. Wonder is pretty damn smart, after all.

Me and Elsie watch, awed, as Ricardo cuts the stones himself, dusty pieces and chunks of rocks slowly turning into polished, beautiful gemstones, in front of our eyes. He handles them with care, completely devoted to his work, his moustache twirling a forgotten habit as he bends over the table, small grinders and buffers tiny noise, barely audible over the hum of people outside.

He sets them with a simple resin, that when dries is invisible, but strong enough to endure fire. The engraving machine had taken care of the tags long before he had even touched the uncut stones, and he's now lowering them into the depressions, every single placement precision packed and so careful, it surprises me. Who knew that jewellery making could be so...involved? The stones sit flush with the metal, so that it's entirely flat, and he buffs it again, making it shine.

When he's done, he has me select a simple chain, platinum again, the links strong enough to survive anything Duo may put against them. I buy another one, just in case. Until you see Duo, Deathscythe twirling and slashing as he performs his deadly dance, scythe cleaving the air open and making it scream...well, you get the drift.

It's cheaper than I expected, and Elsie beams as Ricardo winks at her, another thing I don't understand.

Adults are weird.

Elsie leads me outside again, after she had hugged Ricardo goodbye...I just shook his hand again...and we stop, blinking in the harsh sunlight, which is a blow after the cool, dim shop.

"So, dear, did you have fun?" I consider the whole situation, and found that yes, I did have fun. It was new, and slightly quirky, and sometimes a little too personal for my comfort...but maybe that was the point. "Yes" answer, because it's the truth, and while I may bend it, I never lie. Too hard for me, being cold and practical, to try and deceive somebody else.

"That's wonderful." Her eyes, blue with a shadow of green, twinkle madly. She pulls me down, so that she can kiss me on my cheek, and whispers in my ear, "This is the most fun I've had in a long, long time. Thank you, dear one. Not many people would let an old bat like me boss them around for a whole hour and a half."

I blush, and on an impulse, kiss her cheek too. "Um...if you're not too busy..."

"Yes, dearest?"

"I'm...well, the thing is, there's six gifts, we have to get each other. One for every week. I think..."

"I understand. He thinks you're not coming back." Her sigh is weary, and sad, and I nod, looking down at my feet. "I hate this war. For making my own life miserable, for making others hurt...and for taking you away from your Wonder Boy. Don't worry, dear, I'm sure it will all work out fine."

"I know" I whisper, and she pulls me down again, for a long hug.

Warm, and comforting...this old lady is more like my mother than I thought.

"Would you like to come with me, each week? I know you're probably not interest-"

"I'd love to!"

"Um...really?"

"Of course, dearest, it's not everyday a handsome young man like yourself practically asks me out on a date...not that it's a date at all" she adds thoughtful, eyes glinting knowingly as I go pale. "I would love to help you, sweetheart. Say we meet here, every Friday, gossip with Ricardo a bit, and then go get your hunky man his things?"

I nod. "Nimnu kanryou."

"Dear, you are sometimes the oddest boy...see you next Friday, three o'clock, don't forget!"

She scampers off, cackling madly, and I can't help but like the funny old duck.

I dump Relena at her cousins again, both blonde girls pouting at me as I practically run away...I just have to take the bus. It's not like I'm _scared_ or anything. Nope. Have to meet Elsie. Yup.

I've made a copy of the list, the other sitting safely in my bag back at the dorm. I don't want to destroy it, not with the way I've been breaking windows lately. Fifteen so far, and the headmistress starts running every time she sees the school custodian. Me too, but that's probably because I glare at her all the time.

I think she hates both of us. The custodian, an old duck name Bill...I've been calling old people ducks lately, it's ridiculous...actually finds me amusing. I'll sometimes hang around him after school, giving him a hand when he needs it, and we talk about tornadoes, of all things. He wants to travel to the Midwest, to join a storm chaser group, and I can't help but encourage him.

Tornadoes are beautiful. They remind me of Wing, and I've even seen one, flying past one day after taking out a base in Texas. Such destructive force, so graceful, trying to draw me nearer, pulling at Wings body with irresistible force...

Oh. Elsie's there already.

"Heero, dear, so good to see you!" Scrawny, thin arms go around my neck, and I hug her back, twirling her around once before setting her on her feet again. She beams at me, this time wearing a Dutch dancing outfit, her hair in two long plaits that fall on either side of her head. She notices my enquiring glance, and says, "I like to inject a little culture into my day. Fun, too. The nurses get in such a flap when I get out my French maid costume..."

I can't help but chuckle; the idea of little, wrinkled Elsie in a costume like that is totally amusing. She smiles too, eyes twinkling like mad again, and pulls me into Ricardo's, where the man is sitting, glancing up and grinning when he sees us again. He hugs Elsie again, too, and even pulls me in for a quick one, which totally floors me.

We spend about an hour there, talking about _anything_, at one point discussing the merits of fresh coffee over instant. It was..._wonderful_. They didn't treat me like a kid, respecting my opinions, and even asking my advice when we were discussing guns. Elsie apparently likes guns. Especially the big ones. Ricardo winked at her, and she blushed, so strange on her wrinkled cheeks, and I feigned innocence...which wasn't hard to do, because I have _no_ idea what they were talking about.

"So, dear...what's this weeks suggestion?" I had told them both about the list, about what it meant, and about how he had written it, and I pulled it out, smoothing it on the wooden counter.

"Hmm...something nice to eat, tasty, that will last a long time. Something we can hide in our...well, hide it."

They nod. We don't discuss me being a soldier, even though I can see Elsie's bursting with questions about it all. I believe she thinks the idea is so romantic...two lovers, town apart by the very war which brings us together...I snort, and put the list back in my pocket.

"Last a long time...tasty...dear, your boy wants some candy."

I roll my eyes; I should have known. Give Wonder a handful of sugary treats, and he's slobbering all over you, pleased to the core. That boy likes candy waaaay to much...boy? Kami, Elsie's rubbing off on me...

"I know this great little gift shop, over on Jenkins Way" Ricardo rumbles, dark eyes flashing as he sips at his can of drink, a feat in itself, considering his foot long moustache. "I go there all the time, to get chocolates for David." David was his partner, had been for over thirty years, and they would have been married decades ago if the laws on Earth had caught up with those in space. Gay marriage is legal, and even smiled upon by most of the community, on all of the colonies except for L4.

"Wonderful! Heero, can we go? I've been hanging out for some rippled marzipan for simply _months_..." She looks as excited as a little kid, hanging off my arm, and looking up at me with glistening puppy dog eyes. Has she been taking lessons form Quatre...? Maybe it's just inherit with people who have the same eye colour as them. I nod, smiling, and she cackles again, pulling me out of the shop, and away from a laughing Ricardo. "Bye Ricky, dear!"

"Bye, you gun toting granny, you!"

"He's a dear boy...now, where's Jenkins Way again?" Ah yes, two streets over...what are you waiting for, Heero, come on!"

She pulls me down the street, laughing like mad again, and even if she's a senile old bat, as she claims to be, I can't help growing _very_ fond of her. She's the type of friend you keep for as long as possible, and mourn for the rest of your life when they finally cross over, to the other side.

Jenkins Way is an old time sort of street, cobbled pavement and iron wrought white chairs sitting in front of every shop, all of them devoted to food of some type. It's full of lovely smells, and interesting shopfront displays, and me and Elsie check out every one, faces pushed to the glass like hungry puppies. She breathes in, obviously loving every single smell filling her small, button like nose

"Wonderful...dear, I haven't been here in over three years, but I still remember the first time I came here...I must have looked like you do, right now." I blink my eyes open, realising I've stuck my own nose into the air, to try and work out where that mandarin smell was coming from...

Kami, I don't care, it just smells so _good_...

"Delicate Fancies...Delicate Fancies...ah, here it is!" And then we stop, awed.

There's a life sized horse, pawing at the ground in the window display, made entirely out of milk chocolate, with caramel strands from the mane and tail, and fiery gumdrops for the eyes.

Kami. Even though I don't really like chocolate, I've never seen anything so..._tempting._

"Now _that's_ some food on the hoof...come on Heero, let's go see if we can nibble on it." Elsie's acting like a little kid again, nearly spastic with her chocolate induced glee as she pulls me over the threshold, and into _heaven_.

Five minutes later I'm still drooling by the licorice display, because there's just so _many_...short, long, thin, fat, sheets and swirls and sticks and drops and all the colours of the rainbow...I _love_ licorice.

Elsie's got her face pressed to glass again, this time in front of a marzipan pig, and I tear myself away from the licorice display to see what's so good about it. There's a testing tray, full of small square sheets of marzipan, and we help ourselves, Elsie giggling as it melts on her tongue...I don't know what to make of it. Like toffee, only creamy, and tangy...very strange. But I _do_ like it.

"So, what does your boy like? Does he have any preferences?"

"I dunno...chocolate, he hordes it likes there's no tomorrow...apple chews, he really likes those, and chilli bombs...sherbet...he likes everything, really."

"A sweet tooth! Just like me. Dear, you have _very_ good taste in men..." I blush, and she grips my cheek gently, obviously teasing, and grins. "Don't worry, we'll find him something that he'll really like...something unique, and different, and new."

I nod, letting her pull me around the shop, the clerks obviously amused and not bothering to hide it. Elsie's attempt at trying to devour the horse was denied, though she got an all day sucker as compensation, so she didn't grumble about it...for _too_ long. We eventually made our way to the 'Different" display, where the most..._revolting_ thing I've ever seen was sitting there, covered in 'coffee toffee'. I liked the idea of the coffee, but...really, a bug...?

"Brazilian tree cricket. Sounds yummy." Elsie grabbed one of the self serving bags, lifting a few spoonfuls, and I shuddered as she tucked it into her cart. "Gross..."

She laughed. "When you get to be as old as me, new experiences are hard to come by. I try everything at least once." That made a little sense, and I grin as she pulled me further along.

...there it is. The perfect thing.

"'Candied apple mini jawbreakers'? And with a non-melting chocolate shell, for a double flavour hit...dearest, that's just about perfect." She beams, grabbing another bag, and tipping about a hundred of the small balls into it, drawn from the levered dispenser.

"It does sound perfect" I agree, and then go back and gingerly tip a few of the crickets into another bag. "Well, I know it'll gross him out" I shrug at her enquiring look, and her eyes glint, with a dark type of humour. "Very naughty, dear. I like this side of you."

We, being unable to put it in a better term, went on a shopping spree. Several full bags of candy later, we departed the shop reluctantly, still gazing longingly at the horse as we made our way down the street. We pass by this little restaurant, a pizzeria by the look of it, and Elsie looks at it so sadly I have an idea.

"Elsie, you funny old duck...would you like to go out on a date with me?"

She stops, whipping around to stare at me with such _wide_ eyes, I have to laugh.

"How about next week we get dressed up to the nines-" I love old movies, especially the ones with Audrey Hepburn...if any of the guys found out, I'd be dead meat- "You in a ball gown sort of thing, me in a tux. We'll paint the town _red._"

She simply stares at me for a moment...kami, did I say the wrong thing...?...and suddenly I have an armful of laughing, tear filled Elsie.

"Oh, you dear, dear boy...of course. I'd love to go on a date with you. I'd _love_ it! My, I'm coming over all blushy again..." She is blushing, as am I, but somehow, this feels right. Elsie, despite being the strangest woman I have _ever_ met in my life, is a friend already. The type of friend you die for on a battle field. Another reason to end this war...she doesn't deserve to live in a world so torn, her happiness draining away every time she sees a kissing couple, a recruitment banner...she deserves better.

"Wonderful." My grin feels slow, and warm, and hers is like the sunrise...brightening up the whole world. She hugs me again, an insistent pulling on my long sleeved shirt my cue to lean down...and there! The kiss! On the cheek, of course, Elsie is very proper when it comes to such matters. Or at least, that's what she says.

"Goodbye, Heero, my dearest little boy." She smiles again, bounding away, and I can't help whistling as I practically skip back to that blasted school.

"Uh...Heero...I was wondering, do you want to come with me, to Chandelle's? She's been dying to meet you, for ages...and...um..."

Relena's completely flummoxed. I don't think she understand why I'm in a suit.

"I'm sorry, Relena. I can't today."

"Uh...I guess that's alright...what are you doing today, anyway?'

"Going to meet a friend."

Her eyes narrow, and I belatedly remember I'm still going with the stroke of brilliance I had on the first day I arrived. Despite all her efforts, she can't find anyone remotely connected to me, romantically or otherwise, despite spending so many hours on the intranet the headmistress has started running away from her as well, because of the bill. Poor Miss Ganzi. She tries so hard, too...

Up to 22 windows, this week, and every time she sees me she looks like she wants to throttle me. I wouldn't put it pass the insane woman, of which rumours of deviant sexual behaviour with barnyard animals have been running rampant through the halls since she took her post, twelve years ago. I don't honestly believe them, but the way she looks at you...gah. I shudder, and Relena's glare turns up a notch.

"Who is she, Heero?" I wince, at the venom in her tone.

I sigh. "Her name's Elsie, she has long, white hair, rosy pink cheeks, and the most beautiful aquamarine eyes..."

Her sulky glower could make something catch fire. Maybe I should take lessons...Duo and Elsie and all the rest have been mellowing my best ones out a lot, lately.

"She's also 86 years old, a lover of cultural dancing and hip hop music, and likes to call me dear."

She blinks, and I brush past her, waiting patiently at the school gates for her to catch up with me.

She didn't say a word the entire walk over, not even looking at me, and I can tell she's ashamed by the way she had acted. She might be the most annoying girl in the universe, but she does have a little tact...sometimes...well, ok, almost never, but today it showed a little bit. I sighed again as I grabbed her on the arm, a bruising grip, because I don't really have any tender feelings for the cow who dragged me away from Duo, and make her look me in the eye.

"Look, she's a good friend of mine, and I would come if I didn't have plans already. I might meet her next time you see me around, ok?" She nods, still a little ashamed, and I sigh in disgust as I leave her standing at the gates. I know now why she likes me. She likes the _idea_ of what I am, rather than being interested in me as a person. I know I'm harsh on her, but she has to learn, you just _can't_ see people like that. It hurts them, and you, and everybody around you. When she grows up a little...maybe then, we could be friends. But...not when she's like she is now. It's too hard on both of us.

Hmm...now, the list again. _Something utterly useless._ What's utterly useless, but can make you happy? My mind flickers to some of the more...disturbing things I've seen in this town. Who thought they actually made sex toys out of glass?

No, not something like that...besides the fact I find them disgusting, neither of us is really interested in anything but each other, that way...kami, this is harder than I thought. Every time I think of something useless, my mind fills with so many ideas it's hard to keep track of them all...I smirk. Clever, wonderful Duo. Got me again.

My eye catches something...flowers. Elsie might like some flowers.

Four minutes later I have a bunch of white roses under my arm, because she had said something about rose seeds...they have a hint of green in them, that remind me of her eyes and her dark humour, when it makes its odd appearance every now and then...maybe she'll like it?

By the way I'm practically holding her up, her eyes filling with tears as she buries her nose in them...she loves them. Kami, I thank you every day for Duo, who's made me just a little more human.

She looks stunning, her...gown, I guess, made out of a floaty, sea green silky material, a halter of some kind that continues right up to her chin, floating in curving lines to her ankles, and it leaves her freckled shoulders bare. Her hair's down up in an elegant kind of knot, a few strands of hair framing her smiling, cheeky face, her eyes made larger by some light blue eye shadow. The rest is entirely natural, and I'm floored, because she looks...utterly _gorgeous_.

"Oh Heero, dear, these are beautiful..."

"Not as beautiful as you, Elsie" I say honestly, and bring her wrinkled, aged spotted hand to my lips, kissing the back gently. She smiles again, blushing slightly, and slips her arm around mine. "Let's stop for a chat with Ricardo before we hit the town, ok?"

"Alright."

Ricardo falls off of his chair when we enter his shop, a man sitting next to him peering down at his sprawled form in concern. "Ricky? Are you okay?"

He springs to his feet, moustache quivering like mad as he beams, striding across to hug us both...gently, and gingerly, so as not to crush Elsie's beautiful dress. "Darling, you look _magnificent!_"

"I do, apparently" she says, giggling, patting me lightly on the arm. "Heero here, the lovely handsome boy, is taking me out on a _date_." She grins, well, smirks really, and Ricardo roars with laughter. "David, get your sorry ass over here, and meet the Doublemint Twins!"

We shake hands. He's very tall, head nearly brushing the ceiling, and he had to duck to get out of the path of the swirling fan. His hairs a wispy sort of blonde, long, and pulled back into a ponytail, and his dark brown eyes glint with a mischievous light, not unlike my Wonders. "Hullo. How are you lot doing today?"

After a few minutes of pleasantries, we get down to business, sitting at the counter again with orange soda, discussing model aeroplanes. David adamantly supports them, stating his reason by saying they're nerdy. Apparently, he's nerdy. So, they fit. After Elsie stops her laughing, it moves on to other, more interesting things, and I let my mind wander, just letting the soothing cadence of their voices lull me away. Elsie notices, and while I gaze at her apprehensively, thinking she might be offended...we are on a date, after all...she simply surprises me again. "You don't get to do things like this much, do you."

I know she isn't talking about our date.

I shake my head softly, staring down at the counter, and she hugs me again. "Dearest boy, I'm glad we have this moment. I know you've led a hard life, harder than mine has ever been, and I'm glad you're sharing a small part of it with me. That's the only thing that matters, in this world. When you get to my age, you'll see that too."

I smile down at her, just a little smile, because I know I'll probably die before this war is over. Even as much as I love Duo, my Wonder Boy, he knows that fact too. We savour every moment, savour every little second we have...because the next might be the last one we'll ever share...

David and Ricardo are touched, staring at us with wet eyes and sappy smiles, and Elsie waves a hand at them, a mock scowl on her face. "Oh, shoo. It isn't the end of the world."

"No, it is not" Ricardo agrees, standing up and moving to a small display case, on the other side of the room, fiddling with the latch. "Elsie, love, this is only a loan, but return it anytime in the next three years. A butterfly as gracious as you needs the jewels that sets them apart from the ordinary moths."

He comes back, hands clenched, and drapes a string of sapphires around her neck, expertly slipping matching earrings into her ears, a thinner bracelet encircling her wrist, all in the blink of an eye. She gasps, touching them with trembling fingers, her shocked eyes filling with tears as she looks into Ricardo's twinkling black. "Ricky, dearest, I...I can't accept this..."

He shakes his head, brushing away her protests with a booming laugh. "You can, and you will. Back me up, dear friend and dear lover." Me and David nod eagerly, both smiling, and she looks down, at her hands, which are twisting nervously in her lap. "Thank you..." she whispers, and I can hear the girl she must have been over half a century ago, barefoot and running through a field.

She hugs everyone as we leave, even some random shopper as she strolled into the shop, surprising her a little, but she returned it, all the same. I link her arm with mine again, smiling down at her, and she looks up at me, and sighs. "You're a piece of magic, Heero."

Blinking, I tilt my head questioningly, her eyes never leaving mine. I am?

She must see my confusion, because she nods firmly, as we walk slowly down the street. "Three weeks ago I would be heading back to my lonely dingy room, back to my lonely bed, with only a deck of cards to keep me company. I would have spent the rest of the week gardening, or reading, or listening to some strange new piece of music I discovered after I checked my e-mail. Ever since I've met you, though..." She sighs, looking up at the sky, still so bright and blue above us. "Every week an adventure, looking for gifts for your love, making new friends and visiting places I haven't been to in years. Tasting old treats, and trying new ones, reliving a bit of my past I thought was long gone. The anticipation...what will we do next, what will happen, where will we go? I feel..._young_ again. That's a gift that is more precious than anything anyone has _ever_ given me. You make things shine, Heero. You're a light for my coming darkness, making it recede a little. You're magic."

I stop, and we hug again, right in the middle of the street, and I'm so full of love for this funny old duck I can barely breathe through it.

"There, there dear one" she smiles up at me, wiping my tearful eyes with gentle fingertips. "Keep doing that, and you'll have me gushing next. What's next on this spectacular list of yours?"

I sniffle, pulling it out of my pocket, for I've forgotten the next item on the list. Her admission shook me up so much...oh, I love this quirky old lady. "I-It's something totally useless. Funny. I thought of everything when I read that..."

"Clever boy" she chuckled, looking at his handwriting appreciatively. "You've got a real keeper on your hands there, Heero."

"I know."

"Hmmm...I've got it! A virtual pet!" She snapped her fingers, looking delighted with herself.

Kami...how did she come up with something so quickly...? Dangerous, she is, I swear it, utterly dangerous. Minds like hers need to be treasured, but feared.

"I know just the place...where I bought my computer, the man Edward is _hilarious_, the dear. Come on, you have to see it to believe it..."

We walk slowly still, getting some odd looks from people, dressed up in the middle of summer, when everyone else is dressing shorts and t-shirts, Elsie shouting out something about buying jewellery at Ricardo's. She probably thinks she has to pay him back, somehow. But we don't care; too wrapped up in our own little world, which at the moment, has the prospect of virtual pets bounding through it.

She was right. The man has no...inflection, in his voice. His tone is flatter than mine was, at the beginning of the war, and it _is_ funny to see him get so hyped up about computers while keeping his words a steady monotone. His glasses are the only animated thing about him; glittering neon lights perch around the glass, all the better to read science fiction novels with, or so he says.

Kami...I didn't know virtual pets were so sophisticated, Fully AI, which learns mountains of data as they grow, and fully animated, so that they look like the real thing, on a pocket sized palm pilot which can hook up to a laptop. After great deliberation I buy him a dark pelted greyhound, one that has glowing green eyes and a demonic looking forked tail, bat wings sprouting from its shoulders. It can become really sarcastic as it gets older, depending on what you say to it, or do to it, but is also very loving, and apparently, it loves to play. Perfect for Wonder.

Elsie has some money to flaunt, and she gets herself a fluffy white cat type, angelic of course, with beautiful blue eyes and nine tails, that has an affectionate, if haughty, disposition. She beams, ecstatic, and I feel so happy for her I buy her the extras too, a new skin for the console, and a nice little carry bag to hold it in.

I get myself one, too. They're too irresistible to ignore, and the one I chose, a griffon of some kind, is so like me I'm sort of suspicious. A tiger, grey and blue stripes, with red wings and piercing green eyes, golden claws, and a silent kind on nature, it's not as loving as the other two, but worships being petted, and it apparently adores the demonic types. Heh. Remind you of anyone?

After seeing the other skins, after I got Elsie hers, I grab a couple for me and Wonder as well.

We tuck them away in Elsie's handbag, which has enough room inside to fit a nuclear bomb, if she chose to do so...scary, considering how dangerous her quick mind is...and try to figure out where to go for dinner, as twilight is deepening the sky, burgeoning golden sunset being devoured by hungry black and diamond like stars.

"I feel like seafood. How about you?' Elsie smiles up at me, my arm around her waist and pulling her close, for it's getting slightly cold, and I don't want her to catch a chill. I don't care what we eat. Being with Elsie is kinda like being with Duo, nearly as good, but better as well, in a platonic sort of way. When she's not like a grandmother, she's like a sister, and I grin again, for the countless time this night. "Sounds lovely."

She laughs herself sick, lobster spraying everywhere, as I calmly tell her the octopus legs she ordered me were alive, and therefore, I could not eat them. It would be too cruel. Dinner is nice, candles around the restaurant making it feel cosy, and chequered tablecloths Elsie assured me were 'all the rage, fifty years ago' covering the wooden benches. She has a white wine of some sort, only one glass..."If the doctor says drink wine, I say, how can I resist such a tempting offer?"...and I have a soda, as usual. Being a teenager has its highlights, raging hormones and all that, but the rest of it is a bit of a nuisance. Her dessert goes spraying, as well, when I tell her this. Elsie around food is hazardous.

This night...Elsie was right. It is magical. Though I think the only magic here is her.

The six weeks are up.

Ricardo, David and Elsie threw me a goodbye party, on the last day I went into town, and I'm not ashamed to say I burst into tears when they sprung it on me. The next few minutes was just one big group cuddle, tears running down everybody's faces, and Elsie hugging the hell out of me.

The other gifts were easy. Elsie discovered I liked drawing, and appeared to be quite talented at it...I blame my photographic memory...and we spent all of one afternoon doing a picture, of me and Duo, curled up at the dam, on the willow beds. She wished she could come back with me, because, "Damn. Those beds look mighty fine...too bad my arthritis stops me going swimming in the sea. I used to love to swim." And..."Your boyfriend's dreamy, dear. Can I have him if you don't want him?"

The next week, after we went shopping again, I took her to the local swimming pool, and afterwards, back to that pizzeria she had been looking at so longingly. She was a regular knife shark, performing the creepiest tricks with this little smile on her face, twisting the jagged edged dagger I got him across her knuckles. "Nothing to it, dear. It's all easy once you realise that the knife, yes, it _can_ kill you."

The song? After many hours, back in her room, we decided upon U2's 'Electrical Storm', the band ancient but the music beautiful, and haunting. The lyrics fit us so perfectly we simply sat there, stunned, surrounded my Elsie's life time of – "Junk, dear, it's all junk. The memories attached, though...that's the thing worth treasuring." A nurse found us, the next morning, her curled up on my lap, in her armchair, sound asleep. A lot of explaining was to be found in the headmistress's office, the next day. The woman positively loathes me by now.

We've all exchanged e-mail addresses, with the promise we'll meet every Friday, in a chat room, and tell each other everything that's been happening. I laughed for a good five minutes when Elsie told me she changed her e-mail address. funnyoldduck magicaldate . com

If I had to categorise this week, like I would in a mission report...

Mission accomplished.

Six objectives accomplished.

Main target, Peacecraft, noticeably subdued around me, not even trying to get into my pants anymore.

Found: Three dear friends, a lifetime of memories, a resolution to _never_ eat baby octopus again, and the best I've ever felt without WB.

The rest of it all?

Elsie, the funny little duck with her strange notions, her contagious laughs, her dancing eyes, and her sunny nature...I love her. She's an honorary grandmother. She burst into tears when I said that, and we hugged for the longest time, just sitting in Ricardo's shop, cake smeared all over us from the mini food fight that erupted out the back.

Ricardo and David, the happiest people on earth. They know every move the other will make, every sound, know every story...I hope me and Duo can have something half as good as that, if we survive this war. Best friends, in an uncle sort of way. Also, never say they're like that around them, they get all teary.

The searching for the gifts, deciphering the first three, which were so hard...I could never have done it by myself...this anticipation, this knowing that when I get back Duo will be there...

I wouldn't trade this mission for anything, not even spending the entire time with Wonder Boy. Kami, I love him...but this, this was a part of my life I needed. I'm happier. A little more open.

I've been on a date. Two, actually.

I slept with a woman, who I love dearly, her weight warm and comfortable.

I've eaten a cricket. Elsie finally talked me into it...

I figured out Relena, a little bit.

I've broken 56 windows, and made a custodian laugh until he peed himself.

I've also given said custodian 50 000 credits, from an OZ account, untraceable, so he can go to the Midwest. I didn't tell him it was me, but he kept giving me the _strangest_ looks…

I've made another old man cry, when I did so. I watched, discretely, from a corner. Creepy Uke Stalker. Heh.

I've swum in a public swimming pool, and didn't shoot anyone when _someone_ made my board shorts disappear. Elsie, yet again..."Nothing to be embarrassed about, dear. I've seen it all before. None quite as lovely as _yours_ though..."

I've bought a giant horse made entirely from chocolate, and given it to a nursing home. Elsie had a field day.

I've learned how to make a knife dance across my knuckles.

I've danced in the middle of a street, with a lovely old woman, who cried as the sounds of violins soared into the air.

I've been told I'm simply magic.

I've gained a family.

Nothing can be said about the mission; this was simply far better than babysitting the queen of the world.

At least she didn't die.

I had to steal another Jeep type of vehicle, to carry everything home. I don't think Duo quite realised that when you send Heero Yuy on a mission, he does above form, as usual. Baka. You'd think he'd have figured it out by now.

The hot summer air caresses me, filled with the scent of juniper and pine, so different from the warm ocean smell, salt and sand and sun, back with Elsie and the others. It's good that the mission was accomplished; I still have that little glow that says I did a good job. I wasn't overly hostile. There was no attack. And, better yet, Relena's staying there, for the rest of the year. If another mission with her comes up...

The sunshine is warm, this car goes fast, the music is blaring from my radio, and I have the love of my life waiting for me, just a few miles away. You know, I think it might be a little strange, when we all reunite...my voice is different. Elsie coaxed me away from my usual harsh tones, injecting a bit of warmth into my words that was always there, just so neatly hidden...I'm a bit more tanned, than usual. Sitting with two gay men, one with a ridiculous moustache, the other playing Dungeons and Dragons, and Elsie sprawled across all our laps, on a beach...Elsie made me buy myself some new clothes.

I've got more experiences under my belt...I turn into the driveway, which doesn't seem so long, now that I don't have a sore butt and a sleepy Duo holding my hand, panic a living thing inside my heart...I've experienced things I probably never would have, if the mission hadn't come up.

I've got my six gifts, for our six months anniversary, and the six weeks apart, but...you know...

I think the best gift was the one Duo gave me, before I even left.

Get us something good...I got something far better, I think.

And now I have him to look forward to.

I pull to a stop in front of the house, parked neatly next to the one Trowa stole months ago...kami, that reminds me, I still have to teach him how to recognise luxury sedans...I take my sunglasses off, looking down so I can undo my seatbelt...it comes undone, with a slight click...and two strong, warm, comforting, _welcoming_ arms pull me out of my seat.

"Eeep!"

"Dark!"

"Kami! Wonder!"

"Dark! Dark, Dark, Dark!"

My legs automatically go around his waist, his arms like thick iron bands across and around my back and hips, and his lips...oh, dear sweet kami, I've missed this...he stops, twirling me around and laughing, before we fall onto the grass, me still clinging onto him like a monkey.

"Dark." Kiss. "I've missed." Kiss. "You." Kiss, kiss, and suddenly, we're devouring each other, his tongue tracing patterns against my own...he rolls me onto my back, my legs spreading so that we can be closer...and I laugh, pulling back to stare into those eyes, oceans that tug at my soul. "Oh, Wonder..."

He grins, and I drown in the smile in his eyes, filling with tears as he buries his nose in my collarbone.

Wufei sprays us with the hose, as Duo goes a little too far in his 'Welcome Heero back' mission. Not that I minded it one bit. But apparently, Duo Maxwell trying to get Heero Yuy naked on the front lawn is something that mildly offends other Gundam pilots, who are trying to watch us covertly from the roof. Bully for them. I'm back, and so is my libido, with a vengeance.

I'm sopping wet, cuddled into Duo as we sit on the couch, the others staring at me expectantly. Duo had apparently told them everything about his mission, right down to the details of him taking a toilet break on an unassuming OZ guards head. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that...I decide to go with amused, and grin at him. He beams back, looking highly pleased with himself. Kami, I missed _that _particular smile...

The thing is...I'm not really sure how to explain it all...

"So? Did Relena torture you to the point of suicide?" Duo grinned, flipping his finger up at Wufei, who's smirking, looking totally unrepentant for our impromptu soaking with the hose still clutched in his hand.

"Actually...no. She was alright." I shrug at their flabbergasted expressions, an easy smile coming to my lips.

"Uh...Dark, is this the same girl we're talking about? Ms I'll-Feel-You-Up-In-Public-Trying-To-Hump-Your-Leg-Look-At-Me-I'm-So-Beautiful-And-Completely-Crazy Relena Peacecraft?"

"Yep. One and the same. She actually won't talk to me now...I think she's thinking things over."

"Wow...my boyfriend, the miracle worker." They all laugh, while I smile...a mysterious sort of smile. Things have happened to me, a lot of things, and I've changed, quite a bit. It will be amusing seeing how much I've changed, I think.

"So...the mission was alright?"

"Meh." I flap a hand, leaning back into Duo, smiling up at him from beneath my bangs. "Barely noticed it. Fridays...now Fridays, they were great fun."

"Were they?"

"Hmm." I nod. "I got you the gifts you asked for." I smile, and then laugh, remembering Elsie's expression when she saw the giant chocolate horse. "I didn't get you a pony, though, I'm sorry to say."

"A pony?" He grins, sort of confused, and slips arms around my waist. "I didn't ask for a-"

"Sorry." I grin sheepishly, poking him in the side. "It's sort of an inside joke, if you know what I mean."

They all raise their eyebrows. "Inside joke?" Wufei asks, frowning. He's probably the same as Trowa, hating a mystery.

"You'll see." I smirk, sliding off of Duo's lap and grabbing several of the bags, which I had placed next to the couch. I pause, turning to look at him, and lift a shoulder. "Do you mind if we do this in front of them?"

"Hell no!" He bounces around, looking as excited as hell, a smile nearly tearing his face open. "Lemme see, I wanna see, what did you get me?"

I laugh, and sit back on the couch cross legged, feet neatly tucked beneath my knees. "Let's see...first week. 'Get something to wear, that isn't clothing?' Wonder, love, I do_ love _you and all, but did you have to be so obtuse? It took a cackling duck to make me realise what you wanted." He smiled, and leaned towards me, one hand finding my knee and staying there.

Quatre chuckled, already figuring it out, but Trowa and Wufei are looking expectantly at the bag, green and obsidian eyes flashing as I reach a hand inside.

"Story time, first" I say, grinning a little, and sending an amused glance in my lovers direction when he pouts, but his eyes are soft.

"This gift...took an hour to be made, but...I gained a lot more in that hour than you will ever probably realise. An insane elderly woman, a man with a moustache so big he can hide food in it, and how I feel about you being told to total strangers...it was my breaking. Some of my walls are gone."

They all blink, partly from my words, but mostly because...kami, I sound so _happy_...

I pulled the necklace free, the metal jangling against each other as I held it up to the light, and the opals flashed in the sunlight through the window. Cobalt eyes capture it, enraptured, growing wider as I held it gently towards him, until calloused palms held the tags, and I let it drop free. "Platinum, because it's like your personality, all quicksilver, and light, and warmth, and easy darkness. Opals, because they're like your eyes, apparently. And your name, so you'll never forget."

"Dark..." His breath, brought in so quick it's almost a sob, makes my heart warm all over again. Quatre's eyes are wide as he stares at it, probably because he can feel the emotional love invested in it, and then a beam breaks out across his fair features. Wufei looks pleasantly surprised, as if somehow my gift to Wonder is a gift to him, and Trowa is resting his chin on one hand, sighing wistfully. "It's _beautiful_" he murmurs, and they all nod, except for Duo, who's slipping it over his neck with a happy little moan.

"Oh..._Dark_..."

"Now, the second gift. Shameless pleas for candy are going to be ignored, in future." He snorted, rolling his eyes, but looking pleased all the same. "The story behind this gift...?" My features scrunch up as I think hard, trying to recall everything about that second Friday. "Hmm...let's see...a talk across a wooden counter, an insane elderly woman hugging me as the moustache guy can't stop laughing...a street, filled with so many wonderful smells I thought I was going to die...and a shop, with a huge chocolate horse in the window. Marzipan, licorice, crickets...oh, yeah, and jawbreakers covered in chocolate. There you go." I hand him the bag, and he opened it immediately, grinning and sighing in bliss as he pops one into his mouth. "Oh...yummy...heh..."

"What else happened there...? Oh yeah, I remember. I asked a beautiful woman out on a date, whistled for the first time in my life, and fell in love with a duck."

He nearly chokes, staring at me with wide eyes, and I pat his back gently as the others gape at me. "And, I think I might have hinted at an addiction to Humphrey Bogart films...never mind. Now, third gift..."

"Hold it, hold it, hold it. You asked somebody out on a _date_!"

"Yup. Third gift or not?"

"Uh..." He's still looking poleaxed, and the others are leaning back, as if in preparation for an imminent explosion.

"Third gift...I guess..."

"Hmm, alright." I pull the third bag towards, intentionally ignoring his growing confusion, and stuck a hand in there as well. "Third week...I practically told Relena to fuck off, met up with this gorgeous lady...kami, she was beautiful...bought her roses, and kissed her hand...she somehow managed to get a wonderful moustache covered guy to give her sapphire jewellery...discussed model aeroplanes...and went and bought you this. Her idea, of course." I glower. "Sneaky trick shot, with the useless remark. What's the expression? 'Evil hiding in innocents light?' You bastard. Took me a whole week to figure out something, but she came up with the good results anyway. Dangerous mind, that one."

"Right..."

"Virtual pet! I liked it so much, I got one myself. She, she got this ridiculous kitten thing, but it _did_ look kinda cute, I guess." I hand him the box, and he's dead still, looking at me with very wide eyes. Kami, so are the others...probably because I'm practically _chatty_.

"Yeah...then I went on this date with her...she had wine, but I declined, because I'm young, or something like that...she had the lobster, and she kept spitting it everywhere, because I made her laugh so much...and I swear, I'm never touching baby octopus legs again...let's see...I was also called a piece of magic, got kissed and hugged at the same time, and cried with her on the street." I sigh, wistfully. "Good times."

"Fourth week! Wow, that week was so much fun...let's see...I met up with this gorgeous lady again, talked to two unbalanced gay men about Dungeons and Dragons, and sat on the beach for hours, drawing you this lovely picture...she helped of course, reckoned you were yummy enough to eat. Apparently. I dunno, we were high on crickets again, so I'm not entirely sure she was in her right mind...anway, here you go." I hand him the picture, and he looks at it for a moment, suspicions disappearing as tears form in his eyes. "Oh...'Ro...it's beautiful..."

I smile at him, and pat his hand. "Thanks."

"No, I mean it, you're really _talented_..."

"She told me to do something like that. Reckons that me being so tanned has something to do with it...I have to confess, I didn't entirely follow the train of thought with that one..."

Those suspicions are back, roaring like a fire through his eyes. Wufei whimpered, ducking behind his chair, and Trowa and Quatre leaned together, for support.

"Fifth week...I was taught how to roll a dagger." I pull the knife from the bag, and Wufei whimpers again, now crawling under his chair. I twist it, so that it dances across my knuckles, until it nears him. I then catch it, holding it blade first, extending the hilt towards him. "She's a regular magician, with her knives."

He stares at me for a moment as he takes it, eyes dark and troubled. "Thanks..."

"No problem! Heh, that was fun...nearly cut my thumb off, first time I did it...anyway, the Final week..."

"I went back to her room, and we went through all of her music files, looking for the perfect song. When we finally found it we were so still, staring at each other in shock, and then I pulled her onto my lap...we fell asleep a little while later, curled up in her armchair...I didn't know another person sleeping on you could feel so good...I'll let you listen to it, later..."

He looks down, and away, and I decide to let the cat out of the bag. He looks so _hurt_...the others staring at me wide eyed, not believing what they're hearing...

"Yeah, Elsie may be a funny old duck, but for a gorgeous 86 year old slightly insane eccentric woman, she makes a hell of a lap warmer. And a good date. She helped me, with all the gifts...I call her Gramma now...family, you know? And Ricardo, he made your necklace, he had the craziest moustache...his boyfriend, David, the nerd...he's cool though, they all threw me a goodbye party. Cried like a baby. Didn't know grown men could do it, too...needed a bucket for David, he was leaking _everywhere_...and Elsie hugged me for the longest time...we had a food fight, and I gave Relena the finger...also broke 56 windows, but that's another story, for another time..."

Quatre's laughing himself sick, falling off the couch, and Trowa has his fists in his mouth, trying to stifle his chuckles. Wufei's rolling about on the floor, probably giving himself a hernia, and Duo...well, he's glaring at me.

"Dark!"

"Wonder?" I grin.

"_Dark_!"

"Come off it, Wonder Boy. I've been gone for six weeks. I couldn't just pass it up."

"You could have." He slumps, mumbling obscenities, but the biggest smile I've ever seen on him splits his face in half. "'Ro, you're evil. And a bastard."

"That's another story, for another time" I quip, and he laughs, before he tackles me to the ground.

It's different, being home again.

I don't mean the safehouse, though I do love the place now…some of my happiest memories are here, as well as some of my most heartbreaking…I meant being home, with the others, and with Duo. This is going to sound like the sappiest piece of melodramatic crap _ever_, but anywhere he is, is home.

Kami, being a lovesick teenager takes a lot of getting used to.

We leave the others, board shorts on and towels slung over our shoulders, and he's holding a bag, with the things he bought me nestled inside. My stomach flutters, partly because I'm eager to see what he's got me, but mainly because he's holding me again, arm around my waist and pulling me close to his side.

If Duo Maxwell was a drug, I'd be addicted so hopelessly there would be no chance of recovery.

I'm half drunk on his feathery kisses, so warm and gentle, kissing my pulse, my jaw, everywhere he can reach while we walk. His fingers flex rhythmically with every single kiss, as if he's testing I'm here, I'm real, and my own hands wander, a reassurance for him.

I remember what his expression had looked like, the night we had parted, those six weeks ago.

He thought I wouldn't come back.

My fingers dig into the bottom of his braid, holding him close, as my lips pause under his eyes, and he shudders as I let a tiny moan escape, licking the skin under those oceans of his. I taste salt, and realise he must have been crying, before I came back. I shiver, and kiss him again, and again, trying to erase that reminder, and I lean into him, arms needy and clutching.

"Heero…I missed you…" We pause, the gravel of the track digging into my bare feet, and we embrace, lips locked and eyes closed. I love moments like these, because it's in these seconds I feel the most alive.

He cradles my head, bag dropping softly to the ground beside us, palms tracing calluses against my jaw line, and kisses my eyelids, and then my lips again, as my hands close around his waist. I lean into him, surprised that I have to tilt my head even further…he's another half inch taller….kami, I've missed him…he tastes warm, and good, and familiar, and I realise, with a start, that I love him even more.

"Duo….I've missed this…I've missed _you…_I don't want it to be this long ever again…"

"Me neither….oh, 'Ro, you taste so _good_…"

We can't talk much after that, too busy trying to see how long we can kiss for, without taking a breath.

We eventually start moving again, though Duo's walking a bit funny, and I can't seem to get my hands out of his board shorts. Heh. I love touching him when he's trying to walk.

Hmm…what's that in his pocket? I pull it out, curious to see what it was, and my jaw almost hits the ground when I'm holding the lube, my old friend. I swear it grins sadistically at me, winking as it asks, '_What took you so long, baka?'_ I don't like the tube. The lube's great, but the tube can go to hell.

I raise my eyebrows, a blush heating my cheeks, and he grins, shamefacedly. "A guy can hope to get lucky, can't he?"

"Wonder, I worry about you sometimes."

Then his tongue traces my lips again, and I decide it might be prudent to stop thinking.

Kami, I don't know how we got to the dam without him molesting me…I certainly wanted him to….but still, I wanted to see what he had bought me. I'm a uke, presents are always expected, and heaven help him if he doesn't deliver with the lucky business. Most teenagers can last a week before they go crazy with urges; I waited a damn month and a half.

I really want him.

I want him to kiss me until I'm panting, and arching into his touch.

I want to feel him inside me, cock hot and filling and magnificent, feeling every ridge and vein and pulse as he holds me close.

I want to feel him coming, that tell tale shudder and spasm rocking me, that look of devoted ecstasy staining his eyes, and breath, and in the way he moves.

We sit by my old willow tree, still so beautiful, even though the water is now stained yellow, from their leaves draping into it. The sun is low in the sky, the barest hints of warming light filtering past the many branches, to cover the ground in spangles. The grass is drier, but still comfy near the waters edge, and we hold each other as clouds race the sky for the horizon.

"Do…do you think about us, sometimes?" I breathe, my whisper near silent, competing with the stillness of our surroundings. He must hear the tremor in my voice, because…

"What is it?" He rests his forehead on my shoulder, hands tightening around my waist, and I shiver as I lean in closer, ever closer. His heartbeat echoes, and I can almost see it, a faint movement on the left side of his chest, pale skin begging me to touch, to feel, to enjoy. Kami, he's _beautiful_.

"I've been thinking…" I swallow, hard, and he notices, eyes lifting as his head rises, to lock with mine, and I swim in the calmness they hold.

"This…this relationship we have…if we survive…will it last? Can peace…be as good, as it sounds?"

He's silent, staring out over the water, and I know he's considering my question at all levels. That of pilot, and of god of death, and of Duo, wherever he fits into the tangled twists, his complexities innumerable.

"We've had the war our entire lives…it's the one thing that's been constant, always there…at least for me. I don't know…can I survive without it? Can I even begin…to contemplate…what a peace would be like? I've never known it. I know I'll like it, but not for myself…I'd love it for Elsie. And the other three. And for you…but…can _we_ survive it?"

"I don't know" He answers, and I shudder, because he always tells the truth. His hand moves, to capture my jaw again, and we stare into each others eyes for the longest time, seconds falling away into the deepening dusk. "But I would like to find out. With you."

He smiles, one side of his mouth lifting. There's the crooked smile I love so much. The rest of his smiles are majestic, and wonderful, but this is the one I love the most. Like shadows, and warmth, and darkness, hiding at the other edge of the light. The edge of the horizon. His horizons.

"That's all I need to know."

"Peace…it sounds impossible. But this is peace. Of a sort." He gazes out over the water again, arm tightening around my waist, and he looks so sad, for a moment. His eyes so filled with sorrow.

"You…you're my hope. I didn't have anything, not before you. The moment I saw you, with that crazy bitch…I don't know…something fell into place. Something…beautiful. A sort of peace. Everything before that had been whirling madness, and pain…and…all of a sudden, it stopped. I was…calm inside. Like I've never been before."

I reach up, with trembling fingers, to smooth the hair off his forehead, away from his eyes. My love, in that special place, right next to my heart…it rises like a wave, nearly engulfing me, but I ride it….until it crashes, thundering, soaking me entirely as it rushes back…making way for the next set of waves…

"You're…strange, Heero. You can be so cold…so _lifeless_…but sometimes…the most alive thing in the world. The _only_ truly living thing in the world. You're funny, and you're serious…you can be hard, a shell around your heart, but you can never be cruel…you don't know _how_ to be cruel…you're a truth, and a blessing. You make things…brighter. You're so strong, but when I'm around you, you seem…softer. Like you're showing me something. Something you've never shown _anyone_...and I always feel so awed, when you're like that. When you're like this. You have secrets, Heero, secrets most people don't have…not lies, and pain, and the past…you have a secret heart."

He kisses me then, nothing sexual…just….just love…

Just us…

But…he isn't finished…

"It's like…you didn't want anyone to know, that secret of yours. You kept me, us, every one of us away, so cold…so unfriendly…but sometimes, when you didn't realise it, this light in your eyes would flare….and it was beautiful…I asked the other's about it, and they agreed. Before us, there had been moments…when you were so full of your secret…that we all felt blinded by it. Small. And yet…your secret made us stronger….something brilliant to fight for, something spectacular…and wonderful…and worthy…"

He sighs, and his hands tighten around mine, and I bring them upwards, so he can feel my chest…feel my heart beating….pulse slow against his fingertips. This moment…I don't think I've ever felt anything so awe inspiring…

I've never heard him be so sincere. So full of truth.

While he swears to never lie, he masks the truth so much within himself I don't think he can tell where deception begins and the truth ends anymore. He always tells it, just never the _entirety_ of it.

The sky darkens, those racing clouds now slowing down, heavy with rain and with glittering light. Thunder rumbles, so far and distant it barely reaches our ears, an inaudible hum that makes our bones throb. And I can't help the tears slipping down my cheeks, silent against the stillness, the calm before the storm.

"Your…your secret…is love. You tell nobody about it…except for me…and you don't know how honoured I am. You can never know. Because…this thing we have, it will survive everything, I think…survive this war, and peace, and even the end of everything…because you're right…it's all we need to know." He smiles, eyes filled with glimmering tears, and leans forward, to press an almost chaste kiss to my cheek. "All I need is you. All I'll _ever_ need is you."

I lunge forward, to wrap my arms around him…my head buried into his chest…and he hushes the wind, calming everything, his lips tender as he kisses the top of my head. He just revealed…everything.

He exposed himself…exposed his heart…even though I could have broken it.

Kami…love isn't only an option.

It's a willing sacrifice…a barrier…a sound, and a voice, and a song….a silence…

"You're…you're the s-sea that holds me close….that stops me from being….w-what I never wanted t-to be…you're…_you're_ my secret…you make me…complete…" I choke, shivering, and he pulls me up, until I'm sitting in his lap, arms tender around me as he rocks me slowly, easing away my pain. My past, all it did to me…what I would have become…he didn't save me. Nobody can save another person, in that way at least. But…he opened the door…so I could save myself…

I'm not saying he taught me emotions. For that's silly, and would be almost an offence against him…but…

My emotions, my feelings,…the secret I made of my love…it would have remained that way, dying slowly…kami, I knew I was dying. Every mission I hoped would be the last…that somebody would get a lucky shot in…that I would make a mistake…I didn't want to die. I'm not like that. But…I did want the pain to stop…

That first kiss, in the kitchen…that moment, after the shock, wondering what he was doing…there was a beautiful clarity, that I would kill for, and die for, and go to the depths of hell to retrieve, if I had to.

With him, I'm not afraid anymore. I can look forwards, even imagining us living a life after the war…he's a kind of peace. A gift. He's…the other half of me.

"I would have died, if it wasn't for you."

"I would have too….Duo…I don't care about peace. I don't care about what happens tomorrow. Can…can we just be like this…for now?"

"Yes…yes, we can be like this. I think we can always be like this, if we try." His tears are hot as they fall on me, rolling down my cheeks to add to my own, and when I look up I can see myself in his eyes. Can he see himself in mine? Can we possibly be that connected? That string…it tugs sharply, at my chest, reminding me that love should be happy, and love should be tender. Moments like this are fine, but too much, and it starts to wither away…it needs love as well.

"Good." I sniffle, and then smile, my lips feeling trembly, and weak, but it's a smile none the less. "What are the presents you got me?"

His face creases into a grin, and as we move apart I wrap his braid around my neck, stroking it gently as he pulled the bag towards us, previously forgotten...during that moment of openness…

"I have to say, I didn't have as good a time as you, during my mission." He laughs, the sound of sorrow easing until it's nothing but him, that strange mixture of hyper activity and softness, and I smile, hugging my knees to myself.

"First of all, I didn't make any friends…unless you count the guy who tried to blackmail me into taking his shift, so he could go screw his mistress…weird one, that one…but I think I got you something good."

"What's weird about sex? I like sex."

"Exactly. The whips he took is the thing that made him weird…"

I laugh, and he pulls the first thing out of the bag, another necklace. And I gasp.

It's a normal leather thong holding the pendent, but that only adds to its beauty…a round pendent, the moon in the centre made out of some sort of pearly flakes…the waves around it glittering, like a night sky…like his eyes…and he leans forwards, to slip it around my neck. He looks pleased when I shiver, running a trembling thumb over it, feeling words inscribed on the back, the metal dark, and heavy, and cool.

_Strings that bind…an ocean pulled by the moon…a circle eternal. I'll always love you._

"Oh…_Duo_…"

"You inspired me, 'Ro. Who knew the Perfect Soldier could be an accomplished poet? But it shouldn't surprise me, really. You amaze me all the time." He smirks, and I blush, still tracing the pendent with my fingertips. "It's perfect, Wonder" I say softly, and my smile feels warm, like the one I shared with Elsie. I think it might be my secret smile, if such a thing is possible. When you feel love so strongly…the only place it can go is outwards…

He traces my cheekbone, and his crooked smile makes an epic return. If they could bottle it, and sell it, war would never be an option, ever again…

"Second gift. Sour gummy worms. All the rage in the land down under…" I raise an eyebrow, and he chuckles. "Yeah, I made a joke about it. Pissed off my contact, too, but…well…after I beat the hell out of him with a newspaper, I think he got my drift." He hands me a plastic bag, full of brightly coloured jelly type things, covered in a translucent crinkly powder.

I try one, dubiously, because the things look so _gross_….but really…they ain't that bad. Not really sour, almost sweet, but tart…and chewy. I like them a lot, and practically fall upon the bag, glaring at Wonder as he laughs at me.

"They're good" I say defensively, pulling them close to me, with a suspicious glower at his hands, that are inching closer…I slap them, and he yelps.

"My sour gummy worms."

"Okay, okay, jeez…" He's laughing, though, and I stick my tongue out.

"Bloody juvenile delinquent…third gift." He pulls it out, handing it to me, and I swear I can see a teasing twinkle in his eyes.

I raise an eyebrow. "A teddy bear?"

Kami, it's the ugliest thing I've ever seen. All gangly arms, and legs, and with this squashed looking head…his eyes glare at me, and I glare back. His fur is thick, and tangled, and all different coloured shades of brown…yellow eyes…and purple ears and paws. But…

I hug him to me, and Duo blinks, looking amazed.

"I can't remember ever …having something like this…" I explain, and the bear doesn't look so ugly anymore. Hell, I think he may even like me. Right, sugar shock from gummy worms makes me think insane thoughts. I'm not really complaining, though…

"You've never had a toy? Or even something like this? You…you can't remember?"

I shake my head, closing my eyes and holding the bear close to me, and it's comforting, in a soft, fuzzy kind of way. Like holding Wonder, but not as good, and a lot more childish. But still…he's cuddly, and reassuring, and all of a sudden, it doesn't seem so childish anymore…

I open my eyes, and look up, to find him with that sorrow in his eyes again.

"Even at the orphanage…Sister Helen always made sure we had at least one thing…and with the gang, we used to make our own…"

"Thank you, Duo" I whisper, and my voice is full of warmth, and unshed tears. "I'll treasure him, I promise."

He nods, clearing his throat, and reaches into the bag again.

"F-fourth gift. I had a lot of time on my hands, because I only needed to be there for a couple of hours a day…I met this man, who absolutely _hated_ me, reckoned I was too loud, or something…" I laugh, and he rolls his eyes, leaning back on his haunches. "Like I said, he hated me, but me sitting around going stir crazy was worse...for him, at least. So he taught me how to carve things out of wood."

He hands me a small, black, velvet bag, and I open it before I sigh, impressed beyond belief. I gently lift out a small carved rose, the proportions perfect and so life-like I have the test the edges, the hardness of the grain, to assure myself it wasn't the real thing.

"Kami, Wonder…it's amazing…"

"Yeah, well…" He coughs, looking embarrassed, and I move to sit a little closer to him, so that I can press a kiss, to his cheek. "Thanks."

"Took me three weeks to learn how to do that…and the only thing I _can_ do is roses…so, yeah…"

I hum, tucking it back inside the bag, placing it in my pocket.

"Fifth gift…knives, again. I like knives. And you obviously know some tricks now, so it's something else you can use…" He hands me two sheaths, both with small, burnt bone handles, and when I slide them out, I see they have the strangest coloured blades I've ever seen. Like a rippling green, with hints of copper and gold…

"Copper treated steel. A speciality in a mine near Byron Bay, and they cost a pretty credit, too." I grin, and weigh them carefully in my hands, testing their balance. Spot on. He blinks, backing away slightly as they suddenly blur in my hands, spinning and twisting every which way, a dance of solid steel and sharp edges. I _do_ have a photographic memory, after all, and while Elsie only taught me the one trick, I've picked up all the ones she showed me after the first viewing. It wasn't that hard to do, either. She explained each one, warning me to never try it, but…well, I love a challenge.

I make them dance across my knuckles before I throw them in the air, holding up the sheaths so that, when they fall, they slide in as easily as a…as a knife through butter. Kami, that was pathetic.

He claps, whistling and impressed, and I bow slightly, from the waist, and smirk at him.

"Wow…pretty good, Dark."

"Hmm."

"Right…final gift. A song. I heard this one last week, actually, and did a little research on the net…apparently, back in the way back when…twenty first century when…there wasn't that many gay bands, or singers around. A few, yeah, but not in the number there is today…anyway, it was by these two Russian yuri girls, and I remember what you told me…uh…that second time."

We both blush, remembering that night…the candles, and the words…kami, I wish he hadn't mentioned it. I'm aching bad enough as it is.

"You said it was all about us…and, well…" He grins sheepishly, pulling out a mini disk player, and presses a button on the other side.

_ It's all about us, all about us, it's all about us… _

It's catchy, and slightly dark…and _perfect_. The girls voices soar, and intertwine, making me think of running, and embraces, and darkness…the rough sounds of an electric guitar, the purr of violins, and throbbing bass…

"I love it" I say, when it finally ends, and he hands me the disk in a portable cover, the green plastic covered in permanent marker swirls and smiley faces.

I carefully pack everything away, pulling the bag away from his side and placing everything inside, before I tie a knot in the top, making it entirely secure. He watches me with surprised eyes, lightning flickering overhead and making them glow, as I rise to my feet, placing the bundle under my arm and tying the towel around my waist.

"Where are you going?"

I start walking away, and I hear rustling as he scrambles to his feet, the low mutter in the sky becoming more audible with every passing second.

I pause at the edge of the trail, dark trees rising up on either side to brush the grey sky, and quirk my lips into a smile. He's standing there, head cocked to the side and curious, and I stretch languidly. My calf muscles tighten, and I laugh, before I call out, "Well, you going to catch me or what?"

He blinks. "What!" We have to shout over the rising wind, drops of rain lashing as the gusts blow them into our bodies, and I pull the tube of lube free, from where I had placed it in my pocket.

I wave it, still grinning, and his eyes widen, before he smirks. Like a predator.

Well. I start screaming, though the grin never leaves my face.

I run like I have the demons of hell after me, which isn't entirely untrue, with a whooping Duo Maxwell hot on my heels, shouting war cries into the raging storm.

The safehouse is very close, lights welcoming as the sky darkens even more, grey pushing black as the storm grows worse. There isn't much rain, just a few flurries every now and then, but I'm still half soaked, from dodging into the wet trees, to lose him.

Didn't last for long, either. He's about fifty metres behind me, and closing in.

The kitchen door…I reach it, panting, slamming it open and scaring the hell out of the others as I stumble into the wall, pushing it closed behind me.

"Yuy…what the _hell_…?"

"Here, take this, don't look in it, and keep it safe." I push the bundle into Trowa's hands, his green eyes wide and full of surprise, and Quatre moans softly, holding his head in his hands. "Not again…"

I yelp as the door crashes open, and Wonder's standing there, panting, the lightning behind him making him look like a demon. He slinks into the kitchen, pinning me to my place with his eyes, so full of waves and tumbling ocean depths…obviously, he's aching for something as well.

"Dark…you shouldn't do things like that…"

I laugh as I jump onto the kitchen counter, out of reach when he lunged towards me, and he pouts as I edge away from him. Wufei blinks, Trowa blinks, and Quatre screams, "Damn it! Not again!"

He pulls me down, me squirming away from him the entire time and laughing, until I stop suddenly.

Well, because he's kissing me.

He slams me onto the kitchen floor, hands scrabbling at my hips, and suddenly the towel around my waist goes flying. I yelp again as a warm hand goes down the front of my shorts, and I slap him away, glaring. "Remember? I'm _not_ an exhibitionist."

"Huh?" he gasps breathlessly, and looks around the kitchen, and at some very wide eyes. "Oh. Right. Bed. Now."

"Well, no need to be so _bos_-eeep!" He slings me over his shoulder like a handbag, nodding at the others, before racing to the doorway. I see a flash of Wufei slumping in his chair, eyes wide as blood trickles from his nose, Trowa, who's…kami damn it, he's smirking _again_, and Quatre…poor guy. He's dropped his tray this time, sending uncooked mini pies _everywhere_.

"Sorry!" I yell, before we crash until the door, and I have to slap my love away again. "Open it. Open the damn door."

He whines, burying his mouth in my collarbone and _biting_, tongue hot and slick against my skin. "Door!"

"Right, sorry…"

He doesn't sound very bloody sorry.

"Out! Get out of my kitchen! God damn the both off you, I really mean it!"

"Kat, shut up. I have to taste him." Quatre stops his rant with a squeak, and Trowa gasps, and _I_, I squeal, because he's grinding into my crotch with his, and I can't help the long, liquid moan escaping my lips. Hands pause for a second on my hips, before they slip around, clutching my butt and making me whine as he grinds again, and again, lips hot against my neck. "Wonder…_Wonder_…door…you have to open the door…"

He mewls, too far gone to listen to me properly, and I sigh. "Trowa, Wufei, hold him for a second, so I can get the damn thing open."

They step forwards cautiously, Wufei wiping his nose on a handy tea towel, and approach the muttering teen, as he tries to jerk my shorts off, with little success. The way he has me pinned, I can't exactly stop him, and in the parts of him that can think, he knows it.

"_Duo_!"

My small shout startles him, giving Trowa and Wufei all the time they need to grab his upper arms, pulling him away from me a few feet, holding him there as he tries to lunge for me again. He whimpers, looking miserable, and I pant as I fumble with the door's handle, finally making the slippery thing turn, and I pull it open with a shriek of frustration.

Duo's wet, from the rain and from his sweat, and he slips out of their grasp finally, and bowls me head over heels, into the hallway. I gasp, all the air leaving my lungs as he lands on top of me, and I'm having trouble breathing anyway, with his lips locked to mine, a tongue tangling with my own.

I surprise everyone, I think, when I grab his arm, jerking him to his feet and thunder down the hallway, pulling him behind me, with a hand down his board shorts.

Heh. Bug eyed expressions, as Duo so quaintly puts it, can be more than hilarious.

Doors are overrated.

I kick ours open, turning so I can swing him inside, sending him flying across the room, to land on the mattress. I kick it shut again, my hands already pushing down my shorts, and I nearly fall over as I hop towards my bag, searching for my case of music disks. I know, I just _know _I'm going to be loud, and I want to show the others at least a little respect, by providing a little covering sound.

Somebody tackles me, and I skid across the room, tumbling over and over until we come up against a wall, me half lying across a warm, trembling, soft _thing_.

"'Ro…_'Ro…_fucking hell, please…"

He wriggles out from underneath me, eyes dark and chest heaving as he…kami…he's touching himself, whining as he jerks forwards into his hands, and I have to wonder.

"Duo…did you stop _everything_, when I was away?"

"Yeah…" he pants, eyes slipping closed, chest muscles writhing as he strokes himself steadily. His skin is luminescent, dewy sweat gathering around his throat and collarbone, trickling down from his temples, his bangs plastered to his forehead with it. He smells like rain, and ozone, and spices, and I have to simply watch for a moment, awed. He really did….kami, so did I, but I have iron control…I could push it away….but he's all movements, and noise, and hyper activity…he can barely control himself, in this aspect at least…

"Fuck me, Wonder. That's amazing."

He whines, and I instantly regret my choice of words as he pulls me to him, nuzzling my neck and pulse as he grinds himself into my leg.

Kami…damn it.

I press him onto his back, hands sliding against his chest – he moans, arching up into my palms, pulse rapid and feverish as his heart thunders – like the rain outside, lightning cracking the sky into pieces and the wind screaming as it lashes the earth. I pull his braid away from his body, flinging it so that it lands with a thud, leading out from his head in a horizontal line, so it won't get tangled. I run my hands over him again, and again, nipples rock hard and cutting against my fingertips, and his eyes slit as he jerks into my thigh again. "Shh, calm down. We've got plenty of time."

"D-Dark…"

I place one hand over his heart, the other trailing slowly down his stomach, pausing to sooth his quivering muscles. I lap at the sweat pooling in the hollow of his neck, salty and sweet and _him_, the taste unforgettable...and spectacular…and beautiful. My hand curls around his cock, slick and hot, and he thrusts against me, crying out softly as I taste his pulse.

I _do_ want him inside me, and I _do_ want it so badly I'm shaking with the desire…but this is more important. He must be hurting, he's that hard, crying out every time I pull on him, sure deft strokes to get him off quickly, without fuss. I can wait. He obviously can't.

Besides, he looks beautiful like this.

I kiss his eyelids, his ear lobes, the bridge of his nose, the arch of his eyebrows, his cheek bones, his lips as I stroke him, arching up into my touch over and over again, a parody of him inside me. His cheeks flush with colour, making him look…kami, making him look _adorable_, and I kiss them gently as his cock spasms in my hand, his lips opening to let out a shaky moan, as he throbs, pumping onto his belly.

I sit up with a weary sigh, my back muscles cramping slightly from being bent over him like I was, and I roll my shoulders with a slight grimace. I pay no attention at all to my _own_ aching need, because…well, it isn't important, especially when he's looking at me like that. Cheeks still flushed, one hand going up to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear, eyes wide as he looks at the mess he's created on his stomach.

"Sorry, 'Ro…" he says sheepishly, and my lips crease into a smile as I rock back, onto my heels. "No problem" I say softly, stretching again, and he wipes himself off with a towel, still blushing slightly. Kami, I hate kinks in my back. It's like having a bug bite you, right inside your flesh, and it's as annoying as hell.

A sudden flash of movement, and he's behind me, breath hot on my neck.

"Wha…?"

Oh…oh, _kami…_

Long fingers knead the muscles over my shoulder blades, a sure pair of thumbs rolling the nerves just under my neck…I shudder, leaning forwards, wincing as he finds a group of tense nerves, and attacks them mercilessly. He forces them to slide under my skin, smoothing them out, massaging them into submission, and I can't help but whimper…his calluses, his gentle breath….it's _wonderful_…

I slide into a puddle of melted Heero, barely breathing and near comatose by his knees, eyes slipping closed and then opening as he moves further down my back, chasing away the slight ache I've been feeling since I went on the mission….tension can sure be a bitch, sometimes. He smiles, braid swinging forward, and I place one hand on it, admiring the flashes of gold in chestnut, barely there, but if you know what you're looking for…I gasp as he flips me on my back, attacking my thighs now, muscles tightening and coiling beneath his experienced touch….he has to do this more often…or I'll kill him, I swear…

He laughs, and I realise I said that out loud. Kami, this has to stop. He has all of me, right? Can't I keep a few thoughts to myself? Hell, this feels good…this feels _real _good…this is almost as good as sex…

His eyes crinkle, shoulders flexing as he moves onto my calves, humming thoughtfully as he stroked them hard, forcing the wrinkled muscles to smooth, to lie neatly against my bones, like they were meant to. A happy little sound escapes me, and it sounds…weird…there it is again. What is that? Who cares….hmmm…..yeah…

"Dark…are you _purring_!"

I chirrup, tongue fluttering gently against the roof of my mouth as I do it again, but my chest filling with sound too…a slow rumble, as the air in my lungs is caressed, decompressed by the pleasure tightening next to my heart. I flip onto my side, shoving my calf into his lap, eyes slit as…kami, as yes, I purr. Like a damn house cat.

He laughs, delighted, and his eyes mellow, until they're almost an indigo, cobalt like waves surrounding his pupils. "Oh 'Ro, that's just _so _cute…I wish I had a video camera."

"Right" I murmur, my tone flavoured with sarcasm. "Make a nice little home video of your boyfriend, naked, being massaged." He blushes, his pale cheeks filling with a brush of pink, and I wriggle a little, getting more comfortable. "Sometimes I wonder who's the biggest pervert. You, for suggesting it, or me, for thinking that it might be a good idea."

His blush turns _nuclear_, and he buries his strangled laugh with one hand, eyes glinting madly. I smirk, raising my eyebrows, and nudge him with my toes. "Why did you stop? I think I still have a- _ohhh_….yeah…right there, ahuh…"

His hands attack my tension again, and I sigh happily, moving a little at a time…an inch here, a centimetre there…a foot, when he strikes a jangled nerve, that's been bothering me for_ months_…until I'm curled up in his lap, purring uncontrollably. It's like a fluttering sound, an edge of thrumming intake when I breathe in, a rattle when I breathe out. Kami, I _like_ making sounds like this.

He smooths my hair off of my forehead, smile oddly gentle as he runs his fingers run through it, combing out the slightest of snarls, created when he had tackled me. It's nearly dry now, still a little damp from our run through the rain, and it's…so comforting… I sigh, smiling up at him, and he grins as he scratches me behind the ear. The sound that escapes me…startled, and then warm, and then melting, purr going off the chart…makes him laugh. "Damn, Dark. You really are like a cat."

I grumble, pushing my head into his hand when he stops, and he scratches again, a bemused smile lifting the corners of his lips. My own hands wander, kneading at his upper thighs, leading down until I'm touching the inside of his knees. His skin is soft, and pale, and beautiful…I love his skin. He says he loves mine…something about bronze, and temple oil…but his is truly spectacular. His breath hitches, a startled near moan escaping him before he can stop it, and I blink up at him, surprised.

His eyes glimmer, and I yelp as he scoops me up, cradled in his arms. My arms go instinctively around his neck, to balance myself, and my fingers brush his braid as he carries me, over to the bed, the fan turning on when he nudges a button with a toe. He lays me down gently, the sheets still warm from the afternoon light that had been filtering through the window, a couple of hours ago, and I smile as he lays down beside me, pulling me close. The air strokes my skin, sultry, not stifling but…warm, like his breath, and the lightning continues to crash outside, rain bruising against the roof, and pattering against the window.

"You want to go to sleep?" I ask quietly, as he strokes my cheekbone with gentle fingertips. He shakes his head, a warm smile blossoming on his lips, and leans in, kissing my temple, before his lips drift down, towards the side of my skull.

"I want to make love to you…" he whispers, lips tracing against my ear as he speaks, and my body does this full shivery thing, leaving me gasping. My hormones all stand up and do a happy dance, my eyes slit, the purr begins again, and rockets go off in my mind, all at once.

Kami. That was different.

While I'm still blinking, trying to get my treacherous body to behave normally, he's off, hunting for the lube.

My hands fly up to my mouth, trying to stifle my laughter, as he does this atrocious Australian accent, eyes shaded with one hand as he peers around the room. "Mates, this little bugger, the _lubius terrificus_, is one of the most beeyootiful in nature. Being nearly exteenct, due to overpopulating teens, it's only found in rear parts of the outback, hiding under rocks and shrubs and colleeflower trees."

He grins, putting a hand in my board shorts pocket, and pulls it free, making it wriggle as it does so. "Ah! It's got me, mates! This could be the endo for Duo, if I don't get this sleemy little rascal back to it's naturaaly parent, the _Heerocus Ukius_, without deelay. Notice the odd markengs, and the slimy nature of this magneeficent beast!"

I can't help it; I start laughing uncontrollably, tears filling my eyes as I curl up on the mattress, breathless as he laughs too, wrangling the tube over to the bed, and collapsing next to me. Shivery chuckles escape my lips as he holds it up, smiling proudly, every part of him full of smug amusement. "Caught it, mates. Now, to ask our resident lube whispeerer what the little bugger's saying. Mr Yuouy?"

I lean up, one elbow supporting me, and stare at the blue and white tube, the plastic shining in the lightning coming from outside. It grins again, and I can almost hear it 'whisper', as it were, '_About bloody time! You tell the braided baka if he takes this long again, I'll bite his ass!'_ I poke my tongue out at it, and it sulks, Duo looking at me expectantly. "Well, Mr Yuouy? What'd it say?"

I shake my head slowly, turning my face into a mask of seriousness. "It is not for seme ears to hear, Mr Maxwell" I say quietly. "Let it be said though, it is a very impatient little creature that you have there."

"Alrighty then! Let's see how it will respond to its natural parent, the Uke Huke of outback L1." He drops the act, reclining next to me on his side, smiling as I laugh a little again. "Australian nature shows are hilarious, especially the ancient ones" he remarks, as he slowly manoeuvres me onto my back. "How do you want to do this?"

I take a moment to bathe in his calmness, so very different from the other times we have done this, and rest my hands on my belly. "Like this" I say quietly, and he nods, his fingertips drifting across my chest, as his eyes…like a calm pool, or a wide river…beam into mine, his smile slow and beautiful.

He hands me the tube, and I slowly undo it, sighing in pleasure as he leans in, to gently kiss my neck. His warm lips brush against my pulse, and his hands linger on my collarbone, brushing against the skin just covering my bones. Despite eating a lot of tasty treats, especially around Elsie these past few weeks, I've slimmed out a lot, muscles not so bulging, and not so obvious. I think it's because I worried about him so much…worrying burns a lot of calories, yanno. My hips have become thinner, my waist a little smaller, my torso now in proportion with the rest of my body…and I haven't lost an ounce of my strength.

As Elsie would say, hidden in plain view.

I think Duo disagrees with the 'plain' bit, though. "You're beautiful, Heero…"

See what I mean? Ooooh, I like that trick…flicking his tongue against my jaw, nothing hentai, just like he wants to taste me…lovely. I hand him the tube as our lips meet, a soft kiss, as the storm grows more ferocious outside. Despite being six weeks apart, despite being teenagers filled with enough testosterone to power a car…this is slow. And sweet. Gentle, not unlike the first time, but even more gentler than that. It's like…it's comfortable, if sex can possibly be that. There's no fear, no hesitation…just these soft kisses, as he gently pushes my right leg out of the way, lifting it up slightly, a pattern I've missed so much…

He runs his tongue against my lips, and I open them with a silent exhalation, hands rising to meet with his shoulders as we kiss, slowly, wonderfully slow. I tilt my head to the side, a crackling electricity rising and dissipating in my lips as they brush against his, damp from his tongue, as it traces deeper, curling with mine, as we both tilt our heads back. Kami, his lips are beautiful…a very pale pink, with a touch of golden colour…mine are more bronzed, like my skin tone, with a hint of rose…especially after he kisses me.

Wow. Swollen lips…just because he kisses me…the thought is amazing.

I gasp, mouth opening a little wilder, as a cool, slick digit makes an appearance, tenderly circling my opening. He takes the opportunity, plunging his tongue inside, slowly repeating a rhythm I feel trembling in my very bones, as his knee slides between my thighs, pushing them apart, his free hand moving upwards, to press against my cheek, so very gently…hmmm, I love moments like these…with the fury of the storm rolling outside, and this little pocket of peace…I arch, breath catching, as the digit breaches me, cool and slick and so _very_ welcome…

He pulls back a little, soft lips leaving mine, and I half open my eyes…I didn't even realise they were closed…

"You okay, Heero?"

"Hmmm….yeah…you feel good, Duo…"

It's true. Waves are starting to roll, as they always do…a cold shiver, that always lingers around my spine…a warm, floaty feeling, making my breath hitch as it settles at the bottom of my stomach…and the strange meeting between the two, where he's gently stretching me, coaxing the muscles into submission rather than kneading them, like he had before. He smiles, and looks down at my lap…where a very obvious part of me is starting to pay attention…and I blush as he continues to watch.

I've ruined him, I know it. Turned him into some kind of peeping tom.

Oh well. At least I _like_ him looking at me…

My hands grip his shoulders more, fingers pressing into his flesh, as he adds another finger…I whine, spreading my legs apart further, and he hooks one between his own…grounding me…a shiver begins at my toes, working its way up, shaking me to the core….and he's still so slow, so caring.

I look into his eyes, hazy with the slow, unthreatening pleasure beginning to build inside me, his digits scissoring now, stretching me…his hands moves away from my face, smoothing my hair away from my eyes…his eyes crinkle, with an obscure smile, and he hushes me as I gasp, the stretching slowing down as I pant softly. A bit too much, a bit too fast…

"Sorry, Dark...I'll go slower…" He kisses my forehead, soothing the slight pain away…it wasn't as if it wasn't good, anyway…and my hands leave his shoulders, my forearms sliding around his chest, and then his back, pulling him closer to me…he compensates the movement, leaning over me more, arm shifting, making his hand shift, making his fingers shift…and I arch again, as sparkles flood my eyes.

Kami, I love my prostate. Seriously. I'm going to name the bloody thing, one day, I swear it.

A third one…kami…I study him, through the mist obscuring my vision, taking all of him in…his eyes, dancing with a sweet kind of happiness, not strong enough to be called joy, not weak enough to be called contentment, though there's plenty there. His braid, falling like a rope of chestnut water, hanging down the front of his left shoulder, and coiling on my chest. His skin, luminous in the brief flashes of light from outside, still beautiful, and soft, and hard…in all the right places. His eyes…drawing me into them…the darkness soothing, and warm, with the fan gently stirring air against our bodies.

A beautiful moment. One I'll always treasure.

My palms slide against his skin, feeling the knobs of his spine, the gentle curve of his ribs, the nape of his neck…he kisses me gently, again, lips brushing against mine, and I whimper as he withdraws, leaving me feeling horribly empty.

"Shhh Dark, it's okay, I'm here." His voice is low, and quiet, and…kami, there was a promise in those words…why would there be…?

His body coils, moving so that he's nearly lying on top of me and I sigh, raising my legs up when he nudges them apart, and he's looking down as the tube makes a reappearance. I tug it gently from his fingers, ignoring his questioning glance, and slowly lube him up, his erection warm against my hand. I try to be as gentle as possible, as he stiffens, and then exhales sharply, breath shuddering as it brushes my neck.

"I'm ready, Wonder. Are you? You're okay?"

"I'm fine…" He slowly raises my hips, and the anticipations builds inside, a crackling filling my veins…so slow, so steady…like I'm gradually being electrocuted, my muscles shivering…I lick my lips as a cool bluntness trails along the inside of my thigh, as he positions himself, a hand grasping mine as the other guides him to me, slowly, carefully.

I wrap my other arm around his neck…crying out softly, as he nudges against my opening…stopping, to soothe away my trembling. "Slow and easy, Dark, slow and easy…" he murmurs, lips moving against the delicate skin over my pulse, and I gasp sharply as he steadily pushes his way inside, not forcing…just making me accept him, trying to be as gentle as possible…water, cool and throbbing, as the pressure slowly builds…and then he's inside.

Kami, I've missed this. I love this. And…and I think I'll always love him.

Damn it, no. Not thinking.

I'll love him as long as there's breath in my lungs, and a beating in my heart.

He shifts slightly, moving his right leg further down, and bending it…to give him more leverage, I suppose, and I stare up into his warm, loving eyes. "Dark…you're so beautiful…" He punctuates his words with kisses, nipping up my jaw gently, until he finds my lips. I smooth the wispy hair at the base of his braid, bringing my hand forwards, until I can touch his fringe, his bangs, his cheekbones.

I breathe shakily, a moan tightening my throat, as he slowly pushes forwards, until we're both moving, so deep…oh…so wonderful…before he pulls away, slowly, me clinging to his neck like a monkey again. As he surges forwards I cry out softly, the lube making it easier, but…he's still big. Still stretching me…still rubbing me, deep inside, rougher than his fingers had been…

I suppose six weeks makes a difference after all…

Eventually it eases, as my muscles get used to this new treatment, their protests dying away to nothing…leaving a coursing pleasure, sluggish, as he rocks us steadily…kami, yes, _yes_…and slowly. I wrap trembling fingers around his braid, feeling its silky yet rough strands, packed so tightly together…odd patterns against my fingertips, dips and bumps… He groans, right into my ear, and I turn my head to the side, gasping breathlessly as he nudges against my sweet spot…please…

"I love you, 'Ro…" he whispers breathlessly, as his hips curve again, plunging him slowly inside me, a looming presence, his belly nearly flat against mine, only blocked by my cock…which rubs against his skin, adding to the pleasure… _enhancing_ it…

"Love you…._ohhh_….too….Wonder….so much…"

"You're so tight…so hot…God, Dark, you're so sweet…" He moans, mouth sinking onto my neck again, and I can feel him marking me…suckling gently, teeth scraping my skin, and I just _know_ I'll have a bloody hicky there…in a few minutes…damn, not worth thinking about. Oh….

I lick his earlobe as he moves forward again…tracings the curls, and whorls, and dips with my tongue…he groans, breath cool against the wet spot on my neck…more…and more…and more…slick, hard heat stretching me…oh, yes…making me feel light headed, making my belly tingle, and my chest ache, and setting of explosions of colour in my eyes…riots of blues, and blacks, like being underwater…sunlight wrinkling as the water bends it…ripples…calm, lapping ripples…

"I've missed this…"

"D-Dark…?"

"I've missed you…being inside me…holding me close…..oh….so…damn close…"

He cries out, his hips jerking forwards without his consent, burying himself deeper inside me. I move my legs, sliding down his lower back until they wrap around the back of his thighs…my belly arches up, from this new position, every muscle in my lower body stretching, and when he starts to move in again, I pull him in. Make him hit me hard. Make me…kami, make me…

Ecstasy floods me, of the quiet kind. Courses through my veins, setting nerve endings on fire. Making me say his name, again, and again, a counterpoint to the thunder. The brilliant flashes of light.

"Duo…oh, Duo…yes…deeper, right there…Duo…please…_please_…"

He squeals as I squeeze him, muscles tightening around his thrusting cock, trying to hold him in…sweat springs up all over my body, rapid flashes of heat going off like bombs, right under my skin as I pant, stretching out, legs falling to either side of him, as I push myself up….my hips rising, the hand beneath my shoulder blades moving, because I'm slick, with the heat…

Still so slow. Still so sweet. I would die for this pleasure, sacrifice myself for him, tear the very sky apart if I ever have to find him….

"Duo…." I arch into him again, kissing his neck frantically, trying to taste all I can, because I'm crazy in this heat, this unbearable heat, that makes me feel so alive…

Brutal…lovely…cock scraping me inside, as his hand dropped…to caress me, sure, warm strokes that brought the little ripples of pleasure further…made them into waves…making them engulf me, a tsunami, my eyes snapping closed as I my spine curved…one last time….crying out something, an incomprehensible cluster of words that sweeten the air, make him move faster, make him...oh, sweet blessed kami…nearly…yes….yes, that's it…_yes_…

He rocks us both as I come, shuddering, every panting breath turning into a cry as I exhale…I tighten around him again, feeling that warm, hard heat spasm…I open my eyes, to find his closed, mouth an 'o' as he pumped into me….I collapse, panting hard, every muscle and joint mush, every nerve ending flaring, pain and pleasure and heat and love…making me feel dizzy, as he lifts my hips up, to finish slowly…

"Oh, _kami_…fuck...thank you…thank you, Wonder…"

His hips twitch softly, in the aftershock of his orgasm, and warm eyes find mine once again.

"Welcome…'Ro…"

I snuggle into him as he lowers himself, belly sliding against mine, as he lays on top of me, heart thundering crazily in his chest. I trace the contours of his face with my fingertips, memorising what he looks like, right now….what he feels like, deep, but softening…so beautiful.

This is…serenity. Moments like these…moments I think I've always longed for…

I sigh as he slips out of me slowly, moving so he can lay on his side, belly curving into the concave of my waist…gentle lips brush against my forehead, and a hand finds mine, curling around my fingers, as another snakes across my chest…and I murmur softly, turning my head so that I can look at him.

"That was…amazing."

It was…kami, that was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced. So true, my dear Wonder Boy.

"Yeah…" I breathe, licking my lips slowly, feeling a tingle of salt from the sweat that had gathered on my upper lip.

"Now we can go to sleep." He chuckles softly, as my eyes slip closed…I must be one of those people, if you know what I mean. Three seconds after orgasm, sound asleep…I don't mind, though. It just means that the warm pleasure never has a chance to fade away.

I smile, and move a little, so that my forehead is touching his. "You know, the video camera idea has possibilities…" I feel his cheeks warm, and laugh, the sound almost a whisper in my sleepiness. "W-what…?"

"If we ever have to leave again…for that long…we should tape something, so we don't get…frustrated, if you know what I mean."

"I know what _you_ mean…Dark, you're very, very evil." I feel his smirk, as his rests his lips on my neck, my nerves thrumming as he sighs over my pulse.

"Yeah…that, or I can go to the supermarket…cucumbers are always cheap…"

"Dark!" A slightly offended squawk, and I laugh a little louder, blinking my eyes open to stare into heated cobalt.

"Heh…you thought I was serious?"

"You would…wait, you weren't?"

"Nah…I thought it over, when I was on the mission…I'm not interested in anything but _your_ body…yeah…anything else would be-" I yawn, legs curling up, and he takes the opportunity to slide his slim leg between mine "- stupid. Unfulfilling. Ahuh…"

"Well. I must say, that is hugely flattering." He sounds flattered, too. Heh. Smug bastard.

"Flattery gets you nowhere…" I blink my eyes closed, feeling so…calm…lethargic…and damn sleepy.

"But it gets you everything you want."

"Uh…true, I suppose…you know, I can't really think straight, so I might just go to sleep now. Yup."

He laughs, a warm dark sound, and I shiver as it caresses my entire body. "Wow…I make the Perfect Soldier mushy in the head…who would have thought…though I must say, I'm pretty damn mushy myself, right now."

"I don't make _you_ mushy…you're like that naturally, all the time…"

I laugh a little as he gently punches me, high up on my shoulder, in retaliation.

"Love you, Duo. Wake me up in a few hours, okay…?"

"Alright. Goodnight, love. And sweet dreams…"

"Hmm…"

I slink slowly, like a stone, conscious thought receding as I'm buoyed by the waves…a gentle rhythm, combining my breathing, my sluggish thoughts…the feel of his hands cradling me, protecting me, breath fluttering against my forehead…then the darkness…

"Love you…so damn much…my Dark."

_Lightning continues to thrash, lighting up the entire world, making the air protest with screams and shrieks as it descends in haste to the earth. Thunder mutters continuously, the storm so ferocious no tree, bush, shrub can stand it, everything blown towards the east as the very air is tinged green, with ozone and brilliant lighting heat._

_On a haphazard bed, sheets kicked every which ways, two boys lie together, the darkness that embraces them shattering occasionally, as every jagged bolt of light splits it apart. One is asleep, breath slow and rhythmic, the tiny fluttering of a purr fluttering at the end of each exhalation. His limbs are loose, muscles slack, though he grips the hand holding his with determination, fingers threaded through another's as he clings tightly._

_The other is wide awake, eyes warm as he gazes at the sleeping beauty next to him, so trusting, so peaceful. In all the time he has known the other, this is the only time all the walls are down, every emotional blockade shoved to the side, allowing the other to glimpse, for a moment, the width of his secret._

_This boy, he loved the one that was asleep…loved him with all of his heart…and had been astounded, at first, at the depth it had gone…everything they did together, every kiss, every bout of love making, even the times when they were sitting, doing absolutely nothing and watching the sun set…he could feel it, pulling at him, like the moon did to the tides._

_He didn't care that this was another boy he loved…he had known, ever since he hit puberty, that he had liked boys, that way…and then, when he had first seen the other…_

_He had seen, in the others mind, that he had been loved since the very first moment they had met, as he loved the other…a brief moment on a sunset lit pier, a screaming girl, two pairs of wide eyes meeting each other, locking...the sound of a bullet being discharged, as the gun was raised towards the girl, again…_

_Didn't matter now. It would never matter to him._

_He kissed the forehead of his lover, gently, softly, so as not to rouse him. His hands pulled that resting body closer, glorifying in the body heat, the smooth skin, the utter trust that this moment implied…a chest pulled flush against his, legs tangling around his own…_

_He ran a hand through the lustrous hair, thick and soft and sleek, palm sliding against the mink like strands…he kissed a pair of eyelids, fluttering slowly against his whisper soft touch…his other hand rubbed circles on the relaxed back, feeling the knobs of the other's spine, the curve of his ribs…as the other boy had done to him, not half an hour ago…_

_This love…it scared him, sometimes. He knew the other had been terrified, feeling like he was drowning in it, something so strong he had no idea how to deal with it…he had no experience, all instinct, a bundle of contradictions…machine and man, emotionless and heart filled, terrifying and wonderful…the warm side of the darkness. The one closest to the light._

_His Dark Love…_

_He had heard the hesitation, the surge of emotion, when he had talked about life, after the war…the thought was amazing. He knew he could never stop loving the other, a thought he took comfort in, but…he'd never thought about life afterwards…what would it be like?_

_He wanted to be with the other, always…that was a complete given. He wanted to wake up everyday, cradling that lean body, the others breath soft against his cheek. He wanted to share every experience with him, wanted to share everything in his life. He wanted so much…_

_He shrugged, eyes blinking softly, shuttering bright cobalt. They would take it as it came, as they always had._

_He kissed the other softly, lips so warm and generous against his own, and even in his sleep, the slim boy responded, lips moving against his…he pulled back, with the smallest of contented sighs, studying that beautiful face once again…_

"_Love you…you know I do…and I always will. As you said, we have each other…we don't need to look for anything more. The war…is only a war. Wars end. Even if we lose, even if we die…at least we'll be together, whether we go to heaven or hell…because they're the same, really. Because heaven would be hell, without you, and hell would be paradise, if you were always there with me…I know you hurt a lot. I know you sometimes feel like you can't go on. I've felt the same way too…"_

_The other boy sighed, forehead creasing as he shifted, to soothe away the shudders in the other's body…unconsciously comforting him, as he always did, when the other mused…as he always did…every time they made love, he would speak while the other slept, for silence was terror, even with him…_

_And daylight robbed it. Privacy, complete and entire, even from the one the words inspired, demanded this vigil, this telling, this bearing of the soul._

"_I know you love me…as much as I love you…I know I'm the luckiest guy in the world…I know you don't understand me sometimes, just like I sometimes don't understand you…but that's okay. Because we have plenty of time, to learn everything about each other. All the time in the world…"_

_Sleep raced to claim him, as it always did, after he had been inside that wonderful body…he could head it off, for a little while, staying awake a little longer than his lover…but that exquisite pull, the give and take of muscles, the play of sex and tension and sweet love…it exhausted him. He wondered if the other knew, what he did to him…what one smile could do, on a face that used to be so expressionless…that sincerity in his eyes, when he murmured the words he repeated, before he slipped into the darkness, after him…those eyes, so very beautiful, that always lit up when they were together…the moon, full of brilliant light and love._

"_I love you, Dark."_

_He did. The feeling raced through him as his breath slackened, curling into the other, skin against skin in the storm filled night._

_He would always love him. _

OWARI

A.N: Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!

What did I do to this story?

I don't know…this is insane…I think I might have made it too long, made the last half of it so much more difficult to write…I think I might have ruined it. O.o

Oh well. At least I'll give it a few days, before I start writing the next one.

And we've nearly hit the sixty thousand word count, already! (Does a happy dance, making lime mineral water explode everywhere, drenching her lounging muses and boyfriend, who glare at her) And to think, I started the first String story less than a month ago…60 000 words in less than a month. O.O As Heero would say, kami! And it's true. Started on the 9th of September, and this is the 6th of October…I haven't posted it yet, because I'm just proof reading, but you'll see the first story in about two weeks, by my count...maybe I'll upload each String, each week…the fourth should be finished, by then.

And then you can drown in the fluffy sap with me!

(Giggles, bouncing around in her chair)

I'll have the next one out in a couple of weeks, I think. This time…I don't know. I've had an idea, that they should get to know each other better…and Heero needs to discover doujinishi, yeah…and maybe a few more lemon scenes. n.n;; I love the lemon scenes. Best ones I've ever written, I think.

But first, some explanations.

1) Elsie is an integral person of this part of the series, as you have no doubt discovered for yourself. She's the kind of lady I want to be when I'm that old, especially in the sweet shop. And...Heero needed a grandmotherly type figure, that would be able to support him, someone other than Duo to love…family.

The same goes with Ricardo and Dave.

Elsie is based on my dearest neighbour, Emily, and Ricardo and Dave are Ricardo and David…two men who live not far from us. Together, as it were, and the loveliest guys you could hope to meet…(Sighs) They're reading this as it goes along, as I got them turned on to anime a few years ago, especially the mecha shows…David likes Transformers. u.u;;; Ricardo likes Ghost In The Shell, for the costumes.

Emily likes chocolate.

2) The gifts were pretty normal, I think, for teenage killers. n.n;; The teddy bear was a suggestion from David, as Ricardo gave him one, years ago…I won't go into details, but David was very badly hurt when he was a child, and never remembered having any toys. I asked him if I could make Heero a bit like that…we cried for about a half an hour, after he said it would be an honour, to be written as such…that was before they knew I would be inserting them into this story.

And yes, they cried buckets.

3) The kitchen? Ah yes…Duo and Heero, trying to get it on in the kitchen, sounded hilarious…especially when me and Dave (My boyfriend, not the neighbour…we actually call D and DD the Doublemint twins) slid across it one time, scaring the hell out of my mother and sisters…they thought it was sweet. Dave thought it was hot. I thought Dave was insane. u.u;;;

4) The after bit, with Duo? I think this story needed it…I got the feeling that it was slowly turning one sided, that only Heero was able to show his love…I wanted to show you guys Duo as well, even if it was brief, and in no discernible POV. I enjoyed writing it, however small it is. And I hope you enjoyed reading it.

5) The involvement with the others isn't shown much this time, even though it's there…the next Strings story, Hands of Gold, will show Heero reaching out to them a little more. You'll see a more complex development of the other three characters, as well as a stronger friendship being formed…as well as Heero sketching Trowa, nearly nude, for Quatre…heh, you'll have to find out. n.n;;;

As always, this story has been a pleasure to write, and I hope you've enjoyed it…

Review, if you can, for I long for your sweet words, your stinging flames, the sound of you choking as you sink into the sappiness…

This is a Lubricated Ferret gone out of control. u.u;;

Heh, you guys rock my little world.

Love from Dave, Nicky, Aymes, David, Ricardo, Emily, and the chocolate horse, who loves your sweet, luscious bodies.

But most of all, Love from Shy. For it is I who write this, only for you.


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